Life after the little blue envelopes
by boqls007
Summary: Hello! So... this takes place after everything in the books. Ginny is starting university soon, and dealing with many things on the way. Please read and review. Hope you like it. Almost all the characters belong to Maureen Johnson, except a few I make up.
1. Déjà vu

Chapter 1

Déjà vu

It was happening all over again. After she came back from her Europe adventure, Ginny felt even more confused than before her winter trip. And she thought it would be clearer. Well, you can't always get what you want, thought Ginny.

That Christmas she flew to London, to do one more thing for aunt Peg. Looking back at it now, only a few days after, it seemed as though years have gone by. She came there, and so many new things had happened, she couldn't even count them all. Of course she wasn't expecting a Wonderland. Duh.

But the things that were waiting for there just…

She was expecting more.

More of herself.

More of him.

Keith.

Sure, she was over him, in a way. As over as she could be. He did break her heart just a few days ago. Ok, so maybe I am overreacting a bit, thought Ginny.

But the moment she realized Keith had a girlfriend, it sure felt like her hart was breaking.

But, looking at the whole trip from another point of view, it was even more surprising than last time. What aunt Peg had prepared for her was even more ridiculous than last time. But she was more prepared this time. And she wasn't in it alone. She had Richard, Keith and his so-loveable girlfriend Elise and Oliver.

Oliver.

She had to admit, she has thought about Oliver. So tall, dark and handsome, it was almost impossible to get him out of his head.

Oliver likes Ginny. Ginny likes Oliver. Ginny thinks they're "sort of something".

Ginny comes back to London and finds out Oliver has a girlfriend. Maybe more letters from her dead aunt. Déjà vu.

That would be a perfect soup opera. It could be called "The not-so-beautiful and the very-dammed". She'll have to work on that.

Her thoughts were slipping away. If her new plan doesn't work out, she'll still have to write a thousand words about an experience that changed her life. Now she has 2. Maybe she could sum it up as a nice story. Nobody will ever know the truth. Maybe, instead of making a complicated essay which no one will understand, she could connected both of these stories into an understandable tale of chivalry and adventure. Make people interested in actually reading it, instead of maybe throwing papers of a staircase and choosing to read the ones, which fall closest to the door or something.

As far as the "new plan" goes, Ginny had thought about going to college in England. UCL sounded perfect. She had done the research the moment she came home from the airport. The deadlines were very close, and, for a moment, she was sure it wasn't possible. But to hell with that, said Ginny. I've dealt with worse things this past year. I can take it.

So now she was spending every waking hour of her day doing everything necessary for an application.

She'd work for hours, have a bite, then try to work again, but found herself loosing faith and will, so she slept, and woke up, worked, ate, lost faith and will, slept, woke up, ate, lost faith and will…

Finally, the due-date was approaching and she began to lose faith again. But she told herself to suck it up and send the application.

And she did.

That day Ginny woke up and found her mother sitting on her bed, holding an envelope in her hands. A thick, light blue envelope, which somehow (but it was most likely her own mind playing tricks with her) resembled the envelopes aunt Peg sent to her. Ginny rubbed her eyes with her fingers and yawned. Only then did she notice the address of the person who sent it. It was the office of UCL. She gasped and a smile flew over her face, but it was quickly gone. What if she hadn't been accepted?

Her hands were shaking. Her mother got up, kissed Ginny on the forehead, left the envelope in Ginny's lap and left.

Ginny's heart was beating five times harder, if that were even possible. She took a letter- opener (one she bought in the Tower, which resembled a sword ), and started to cut the envelope open. She took the letter out, took a big breath and started reading.


	2. London calling

Heathrow airport seemed bigger and more crowded than ever. There were people from all over the world. Ginny listened to what they were saying, but, of course, she didn't understand anything, except other Americans, a few French tourists and the British employees.

She was dragging a large suitcase, in which she put only half of her property. The rest would be arriving soon, her parents promised. It was much easier going around with a suitcase. She didn't miss her backpack at all. She was also carrying a bag with her, in which she had put all the essentials, including some extra clothes, in case the suitcase got lost. Luckily it didn't, so she was now heading toward some exist. Any exit would be fine.

Ginny stopped to catch a breath and she caught a reflection of herself in a mirror. She remembered that mirror. It was the mirror she looked at herself when she first arrived in London, almost a year ago. Her clothes were different. She didn't look like a tourist. She looked like a student, maybe even a Londoner. But... her hair was the same. Two braids, making her head look like a pretzel once more. But somehow, the braids fit into the new style. And she had missed them. She realized people were starting to look at her, thinking of her as a lunatic, staring at herself in the mirror, blocking the path. She quickly moved, her face turning completely red.

She saw Richard waiting in front of Starbucks. She almost didn't recognize him. Richard was trying to grow something that would probably in another universe maybe somehow resemble something that could just maybe be a goatee. Surprisingly, he was pulling it off.

He smiled with the warmest smile, and she found herself returning it with the same affection. They hugged and smiled. He took her suitcase and. They made their way toward the cabs parked outside.

" Well… welcome home, I guess." Richard said, while putting Ginny's suitcase in the living room. Ginny looked around, noticing aunt Peg's paintings on the wall, along with a photo of aunt Peg and Ginny. She went to the kitchen to get a glass of water, and found new sets of plates, cups and silverware. She opened the fridge and found it completely filled with food.

" I didn't know what you liked to eat at home, so I took a bit of… well, everything, as you can see. " Richard said, a little embarrassed. Ginny thanked him, took the suitcase and decided to start unpacking. She and Richard had agreed she was to move in to aunt Peg's old room. Richard said he wouldn't take anything out of it, leaving it up to Ginny to keep what she wants.

Ginny entered the room and was suddenly overwhelmed by a familiar and warm feeling. She put the suitcase near the window and sat on the bed. She took her shoes of, and fell asleep.

When she woke up, she realized it was already morning, and Richard had already gone to work. She found a note, saying he'll be home by 5, and that she is allowed to do what ever she wants.

First Ginny took a long bath. When she finally got out of the bath, her fingers were wrinkled like raisins. She went to the kitchen and made an omelet, which is something she hadn't done in years. She turned on the TV, and started watching a quiz. She tried to answer the questions while eating, and talked to the contestants, occasionally calling them idiots. But she was only joking. After about an hour, she realized she had nothing to do. She thought of cleaning aunt Peg's room and redecorating, but she wasn't ready. So she decided to take another tour of London.

This time, not only were there no rules, but there were no cute boys, ridiculous quests and that ugly backpack. It was just her. And this beautiful city she was now calling home.

Ginny was now trying to find her way out of the underground, and toward Westminster, which was her exiting point and the start of her one-woman tour. She was pushed aside by a million tourists, and after about 20 minutes found herself in the street, back turned to the Thames. She was looking at the palace of Westminster and that beautiful tower. She didn't call it Big Ben, because she knew Big Ben was only the broker bell inside it. The air somehow felt fresh. The city was filled with people. She tried to set a destination, but soon forgot where she was going. She wondered through streets, looked at shops, beautiful buildings, mesmerized by the atmosphere and the attitude of the city. Ginny found it classy and cool, which were 2 words most of her lot friends used. Miriam especially. Ginny had already made plans for Miriam to come near Christmas. But it was a long way from that.

Ginny now realized she was in Covent Garden, but didn't really mind. She kept on walking, and soon saw a familiar building. One she didn't want to see. The Goldsmith's college. Keith's college. This was not where she wanted to be. She didn't even remember how she remembered the way. So she decided to find the nearest bus station and go anywhere else. She got on the first bus she saw, and realized the bus was going to the Tower bridge. Which was nice and far away from here and anywhere Keith might be. She sat back and watched as millions of people made their way to who knows how many places.

She knew this was a good decision. Going to UCL. She was more than ready to start a new life. And what better place than London?

As time went by, Ginny noticed drops of rain on the window. Luckily, she had brought an umbrella, knowing the unpredictable weather.

She got out of the bus, and as she got closer to the Tower and the Tower bridge, realized she wasn't in the mood for a tour. Instead, she leaned on the wall new the "Traitor's gate", and watched as drops of rain began their dance on the surface of the Thames. She spent at least 15 minutes watching them. After she finally broke away from the spell, she looked at her watch and realized it was already 5 p.m. She looked for a tube entrance, and decided to rush home, having in mind that Richard was probably on his way back, and didn't want him to worry. She looked at the map and found the quickest way home. She'd have to make a few crossings, but it didn't seem that bad. She took one last look at the streets filled with people and umbrellas before going underground. She was going to come back tomorrow. She had anther three months before university began.

She was determined to learn as much as possible about London. And avoid someone along the way. As she was sitting in a half empty wagon, somebody else crossed her mind.

Oliver.


	3. Old wounds and old friends

Her ride home was an experience Ginny would rather forget. Every time the train stopped it looked like millions of people came aboard. She was thankful when it was time to switch trains. While exiting at her final stop, a poster on the wall drew her attention. She saw the well-know image of a man, whose head was in a coffee cup.

Ginny stood there for about 5 minutes, and then finally realized how ridiculous she must look. She came closer to the poster, and found herself staring at a familiar name: Keith Dobson.

For a short moment she had hoped it wasn't THE Starbucks: the Musical, the reason she and Keith met in the first place.

But it was.

And let's face it, thought Ginny, who else would be crazy enough to make a Starbucks: the Musical, other than Keith?

Nobody.

As she was coming closer to Richard's house, she though a bit more about a certain tall, dark and mysterious man.

Oliver had certainly been on her mind for the past 7 months. They stayed in contact, and would spend some time chatting over the Internet. The time difference was a bummer, but Oliver was more committed to this "friendship/relationship" than Keith was. He spoke with her as often as he could, and even called her one weekend, for no special reason. He said he missed her voice. Ginny melted, but decided not to rush or imagine things that she wasn't quite sure were true.

Looked what happened last time.

When she entered, Richard was sitting on the couch watching a quiz (seriously, is that all they watch here?), and upon noticing her, got up and walked toward the kitchen, opening cartons from an Indian restaurant.

"I hope you don't mind, I ordered Indian food. I remembered you liked it. Your friend, Keith, mentioned it to me some time ago."

"Yeah, I do. Thanks." Ginny replied, sitting at the table, starting to cut the chicken with extra curry. She noticed some of the food resembled the food she ate with Keith and David the night Fiona dumped David.

This constant reminding of Keith was now annoying her.

"So, what did you do at work today?" she asked, trying to stir away from her thoughts.

"Well… it was an ordinary day, I guess. I mean, the Queen didn't need any underwear today, so it was quite normal." Richard finished with a smile, noticing Ginny had also started to laugh.

"What did you do?" he asked her, while taking a large bite and nearly choking.

"Whoa, easy there, tiger. Don't die on me just yet." She said, with a small smile. "Well what can I say? I spent most of the day riding around, and then I went to see the Tower bridge, and then… I went home."

Richard nodded, and continued to eat his food, now taking small bites.

" Did you see anybody you know?" he asked after some time, while finishing his pork.

Ginny looked at him, and it somehow seemed to her he knew she had been noticing bits of Keith all over London. But how could he know? Did she really look desperate? She couldn't have looked desperate! She was perfectly fine! Keith was her friend, and she felt nothing more toward him.

That's what Ginny told herself. Because she didn't want to be one of those girls who'd ruined themselves for a guy. She'd met them in high school. And she felt sorry for them.

Ginny didn't want anybody to feel sorry for her.

"I don't really know anybody here. I mean university starts in three months." Ginny replied, hoping to sound convincing.

"Oh, right. I completely forgot." Richard said, smiling. He then continued:" Are you going to meet with Oliver? Weren't you two staying in touch?"

"How did you know that?" Ginny said, surprised.

"He came by several times, asking whether you were coming soon. He must really fancy you." Richard said, now teasing her a bit.

"Be quiet, you." Ginny said, throwing a napkin in his face.

They'd cleaned up, and sat down in front of the TV to watch something.

They ended up watching a quiz.

Ginny woke up next morning with a terrible throat ache. She went to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. Richard was sitting there, drinking a coffee, dressed in sweatpants.

" I work in the afternoon." Richard said upon noticing her face.

"Oh... that explains the pants." she said with a smile.

"Thank you. So, what are your plans for today?"

Ginny thought about it for a little bit. " I think I might go for another walk."

"Ok. That's a good idea. I hear there's going to be a little rain today." He said, turning another page of the newspaper he was reading.

"Don't worry, I'm prepared. Hey, do you have any honey? My throat is killing me."

"Yes, it's in the cupboard. The left one above the sink."

"Ah, I see it. Thanks." Ginny said. She started to prepare tea and decided to make something to eat. She saw the clock on the wall and realized it was already noon.

"Why did you let me sleep so long?" she asked Richard.

"Well… I tried waking you up around 9 a.m., but you threw a pillow at me. So I backed off." He said, taking another sip oh his coffee.

"Oh. Ok. I'm sorry."

"No problem. Hey, listen, I should get going, because it's going to be hard getting there. Do you need anything else?" he said, drinking the rest of his coffee.

"No, I'll be fine. I have everything I need. And more. Go. Good luck."

Richard went to change. Ginny sat at the table, drinking her tea and eating her toast. He came down after five minutes, waved and ran out the door.

After about 10 minutes, having finished her meal, Ginny decided to visit Oliver. It was the right, mature thing to do.

Plus, she REALLY wanted to see him.

She decided she would not think of Keith today, but only of Oliver.

She went to aunt Peg's room and spent a good 15 minutes deciding what to wear. She ended up wearing a worn out pair of dark jeans, a long and loose T-shirt with many colors and patterns, a pair of black All Star shoes and her favorite sunglasses. She tied her hair into a "careless" ponytail. She looked at herself in the mirror, and decided she looked rather good. She put some money and her cellphone in to a little bag. She locked the door and was now trying to remember the way to Oliver. It didn't take long. It was a bit complicated, but Ginny was good at remembering things.

After a long and boring journey, Ginny found herself in Guildford, and was making her way toward the Elephant, a café with African decorations, where Oliver worked. She wasn't quite sure he would be there, but she was hoping.

And he was. There was nobody else in the café, and Oliver was apparently locking up. He turned around and noticed her.

After a moment of shock, he smiled and they kissed. It was a short, but passionate kiss. And at that moment Ginny felt happier than she'd felt all day.

They went to a park and sat on a bench. After Oliver had asked all the normal questions, like how long has she been in England and what is she doing in Guildford, he stopped and asked her something else.

"So, how long are you staying?" he asked, hoping she'd say long.

"Guess." Ginny decided to tease him a bit.

"A few weeks? I mean, when does university start?"

Ginny loved the way he pronounced university. Nobody in the world said it quite like Oliver.

Nobody, except maybe…

No, she was not going to think about Keith. Sure, when Keith said "university" she'd get shivers down her spine. And sure, that didn't happen when Oliver said it, but Oliver was in so many ways better than Keith.

"A bit longer." She replied, trying to push Keith out of her thoughts.

"I give up. How long?" he said, after about a minute of thinking.

" 4 years." Ginny said, not being able to suspend a smile.

Oliver's eyes widened, and he smiled even more and kissed her again.

She realized how beautiful his smile was and how great his kisses felt. She was finally thinking only of Oliver, and nothing else.

They'd spent a long time in that park, and it was now almost 7 p.m., and Ginny remembered the last train leaves in 30 minutes.

Oliver walked her to the station, and they kissed again.

"I'll come and see you tomorrow," he said, "I promise."

Ginny smiled and ran for the train. She waved once more, and went to find her seat. That wasn't hard to find.

She spent the rest of the journey back thinking about Oliver.

When she suddenly heard a familiar voice.

...

**Hello. So, please tell me what you think so far. I have worked out what will happen later, but your suggestions are very welcome. Thank you for reading.**


	4. Electricity or fire?

It didn't take Ginny long to remember the person whose voice she'd just heard. She didn't even have to turn around to make sure.

It was Ellis.

Ginny slowly turned her head, hoping Ellis wouldn't notice her just yet. She was sitting a few seats away, talking on the phone. She was talking very quietly, but Ginny could still hear and make out some of the words she was saying.

Ginny heard the word " brilliant" mentioned a few times, and the words "love" and "soon" were mentioned very often. Ellis would giggle every now and then, but it wasn't an annoying kind of giggle.

It didn't take long enough to realize whom Ellis was talking to.

It had to be Keith.

In Ginny's head, she built the conversation between the two:

Ellis: " Hello, love."

Keith: " Ahoy."

E: " Just wanted to let you know I'll be home soon.

K: " Great, love. I'd love for us to see a film soon."

E: " That's a brilliant idea, love. I'd love to see one soon. Loving your brilliant idea, love.

K: " Well, what can I say, love? I'm a brilliant person, love. Don't you just love me, love?

E: I do, love. I love you very much, love."

K: "Well…

Ginny's trail of thought was broken by a pat on the shoulder. It was a gentle pat, so she knew who was standing next to her.

" Ginny! Oh my God! I can't believe you're here! That's so exiting! Ah!"

Ellis was hugging her, and a huge smile spread across her face.

Ginny found herself returning the hug, and smiling just as much. She realized it was a sincere smile.

" What are you doing here?" Ellis broke away from the hug, still smiling, and looked at Ginny.

" Well… I'm actually moving here. I start university in the fall."

" You're going to university here? That's so amazing! I have to tell Keith now!" Ellis was reaching for her phone, but Ginny stopped her.

" I'd… I'd rather you didn't right now. "

"Oh, right, yeah. I… you had that… sort of fight. I remember. He told me. Right." Ellis was apologizing. She didn't want Ginny to feel embarrassed, so she quickly changed the subject.

" So, you're living with your uncle?"

Ginny felt relieved. " Yes, I am. The house is big enough for the two of us, so it's not a problem."

"Right. That's great." Ellis said and smiled.

They spent the rest of the trip talking. Ginny found out Ellis had a friend in Guildford, and was coming back from a birthday party. She also mentioned she was talking to Keith (so Ginny was right), and just as she was hanging up, she noticed someone with intensely dark brown hair, and she initially thought of Ginny.

" Well, at least I don't make a fleeting impression." Ginny tried to joke.

" Of course you don't, silly. How could you?" Ellis said. She paused. " You know, Keith talks about you." Ellis admitted after a while, staring at something outside.

Ginny's heart skipped a beat. She definitely had some heart issues.

Anyway, she kept repeating those words in her head. "Keith? Talking about ME?" She decided for a more subtle approach.

"I guess he never says the good things."

"Hah, quite the opposite. He says he's sorry he said some bad things to you. He's angry at himself."

Ginny's heart was definitely malfunctioning. Maybe… Keith still… sort of… likes her?

Ellis' voice broke the silence.

"Ginny, I'm so sorry if that has anything to do with me. Keith tells this to David, I just sometimes hear some of it. I want you and me to be friends; I don't want any bad things between us. I just… really care about Keith. And I like you. So… please tell me if it's my fault."

Ginny was looking at Ellis' eyes. They were starting to fill with tears.

Those were real tears. She wasn't acting.

Well, it was her fault, but Ginny couldn't tell her that.

"No, of course not." Ginny lied. " It's just a fight about… some things that happened. Don't eat yourself about it. Please, Ellis. I'd like for us to be friends, too."

Ellis wiped the tears from her eyes, and smiled. Ginny smiled too.

They got of the train. It was quite dark. It began to rain. Ellis hugged Ginny once more.

"I'm so glad I ran into you. How about we meet for a coffee soon? I still have your number." Ellis said.

Ginny smiled and nodded. She decided to take a bus home. It was going to take a bit longer, but she needed time to think.

She got on the second bus, paid for her ticket, and sat near the window.

The rain became stronger and stronger. It calmed her down. She noticed Ellis, who was getting into a cab.

Ginny wasn't sure whether seeing Ellis again was a good or a bad thing.

She couldn't decide whether finding out about Keith was a good or a bad thing. It sure felt good. But, knowing what it did to Ellis wasn't good. Ginny's eyes watered up, and she quickly wiped them. She didn't want to think about Keith. Or maybe she did, but she didn't want it to be painful. And it was painful and annoying. She wanted to be with Oliver, and she wanted to stop thinking about Keith. But she couldn't.

Could she actually… _love _Keith?

That wasn't possible.

There was a strong chemistry between them ever since the beginning, but there was chemistry between Oliver and her as well.

Sure, maybe it was weaker.

And sure, maybe she felt electricity when Keith touched her hand, but she felt fire when Oliver did.

The question is… which is stronger?

Ginny woke up next morning around 7 a.m. She rolled out of bed, unable to sleep anymore. Richard had already gone to work.

Ginny slowly made her way toward the kitchen, and spent about 20 minutes making breakfast. Finally, she sat in front of the TV with two sandwiches and a glass of milk. She turned the TV on and decided to watch BBC. A new show was on, called "Sherlock". She remembered reading some things about it. Apparently, it was good.

And it really was. Ginny sat there for an hour and a half, completely mesmerized by the story and the actors.

Ginny decided to do something today. Yesterday's encounter with Ellis just made her feel sad again. While she was getting dressed, she remembered Oliver. He was coming today! Ginny started jumping up and down the house, feeling happy again. She decided to wear a pair of brown shorts and a white blouse. She decided to take another shower and spend some more time in the bathroom.

Finally, she came out, all clean and ready, and she heard the bell ring. She squealed with excitement and rushed to the door.

It was Oliver, standing at the porch with a bouquet of roses and daisies, looking all gorgeous and mysterious.

She smiled and kissed him, and he handed her the flowers. She invited him inside, but he said they better start going, because he had something planned. Ginny put the flowers in a vase, took some money, locked the house and left. After a few minutes, Oliver took her by the hand, and they continued to walk. Ginny felt as though she had not a care in the world.

They walked through the streets, and talked of many things. Sometimes, they wouldn't even talk. It was a comfortable and safe silence. They apparently reached their destination after about 20 minutes of walking. They were approaching Kensington Gardens.

Ginny loved the parks and gardens in London. Just the idea of so many parks and gardens in such a big city was amazing. She didn't understand what they were doing here, but Oliver obviously knew.

They went through what seemed like a maze of flowers and bushes, and then she finally saw it- a small, statue of Peter Pan.

She couldn't help but smile. Oliver saw that, and he smiled too. They sat on a bench near it, and looked at it for a while.

" I wanted you to see it." He said. " It's my favourite statue in London. Actually, this is my favourite place in all of London."

" It means a lot to you, doesn't it?" she asked, looking deep into his eyes.

"Yes. I'd always wanted to be like Peter Pan. Just fly away and never grow up. Never worry." Oliver said, turning his face away from Ginny's.

" But Peter Pan also had worries. And he had to take care of kids and fairies. And he had to fight pirates." Ginny said, trying to help.

Oliver smiled, but it wasn't a big, happy smile. It was barely noticeable.

Ginny reached for his hand. It was cold. She held it. His long fingers were slowly wrapping around hers. He lifted his head and with his other hand reached for her face. She felt fire streaming through her body. Oliver leaned in, and they shared a long and passionate kiss.

Ginny felt something wet on her nose. She realized it had begun to rain. They got up and started to walk away from Peter. Ginny turned her head once more, and smiled at the friendly statue. She wrapped her hand around Oliver. They decided to take the bus. She leaned and put her head on his chest. She could hear his heart beating. It was peaceful. But when she kissed his neck, it began to beat fast. Very fast.

She smiled, but Oliver didn't notice.

They got on the first bus. It was almost completely empty. They upstairs, all the way behind, so nobody could see them. Ginny leaned and kissed Oliver again. He kissed back. That lasted until an old granny came and sat very close to them, just a few seats away. They felt embarrassed, and decided to stop. Instead, they wrapped their fingers together and just sat. They didn't talk, and there was no need to talk.

**I hope you like this, and I hope you'll like what comes next. So, please keep reading. And one more question: who are you cheering for- Keith or Oliver, or someone new? Answer the poll on my profile.**


	5. The ghosts of the past

Oliver's train was leaving in 20 minutes. They were already at St. Pancras station, drinking tea in a near café. Oliver was talking about how annoying his job was now, when everybody was slowly leaving and spending the summer holidays somewhere else. He said his vacation starts in a month.

"So long? How will you possibly survive?" Ginny joked.

"I have no idea." Oliver replied, a smile spreading across his face as he was coming closer to Ginny.

Their lips met one more time, and the kiss was interrupted by a voice, announcing it was time to board Oliver's train. He got up, kissed Ginny's hand, turned around and left.

Ginny was waiting for him to get on the train, and then she slowly went home.

At around 9 p.m., her phone rang. Richard was texting, saying he was coming home and was just about to stop at McDonald's, and if she wanted anything. Ginny ordered a hamburger, fries, a Coke and a McFlurry, knowing it would melt by the time Richard got home. But she didn't care.

It actually didn't completely melt, for Richard had come very quickly, in about 10 minutes. She found out he had gotten a cab, which explained it.

They ate in silence, and Ginny went to bed quickly after finishing her meal. She said goodnight to Richard, brushed her teeth, and fell on the bed, thinking about the last day.

Seeing Oliver again was brilliant.

Kissing Oliver again was brilliant.

But what now?

He wasn't going to visit her for some time, and she didn't want to bother him by visiting every day.

She decided to write an e-mail to Miriam, hoping she might recommend what Ginny ought to do.

Luckily, Miriam was using her computer at the time, so she and Ginny ended up chatting online for at least a few hours.

_So, what's your plan, G.? I mean, are you just gonna let him go and find someone else, like Keith did?_

_Well, I can't be around him all the time. I'll be a weight around his neck. And I didn't let Keith go, he decided to find someone else. ON HIS OWN. It's not like I told him he was mine or something like that. You know the situation._

_Well do something about it then. Surprise him. And what do you mean, "I didn't let Keith go"? Yes, you did. You told me, remember? Oh my God…_

_What? Miriam, what?_

_You… still have feeling for Keith, don't you? I knew it!  
><em>

_No, I don't, Mir. I don't._

_You can try and live in denial, Gin, but where will that get you? I don't know why you and Keith didn't try to make it work. You were crazy about him, and he was crazy about you. I just don't get it, Gin._

_I don't want you to like Keith more than Oliver. Oliver is much better than Keith._

_Yes, well I don't know that. You might find this hard to believe, and I know you will, but the past year, you've spent more time talking about Keith than Oliver. And even after you came back this winter, you still talked more about Keith. Even after he'd hurt you like he did. Of all the time we spent talking about boys, you spent about 70% of the time talking about Keith, and 30% talking about Oliver. If that doesn't tell you something, I don't know what will._

Ginny paused and read Miriam's reply a few times.

She was right. Ginny did talk more about Keith. She though a bit, and wrote back.

_Yes, but I was in a state of shock and disbelief. _

_Ok. How about this? I have a bet to put on the table._

_Ok, shoot._

Ginny waited anxiously for Miriam's respond.

_Tell me, and be honest, how many times have you thought about Oliver? Not only today, but also the entire time?_

_All the time. I was with him today, and yesterday as well._

_Ok. And how many times have you thought about Keith?_

Ginny was starting to write a lie, but quickly changed her mind. She promised to Miriam she'd tell, or in this case write, the truth.

_All the time._

_See? What do you expect me to say now? You want my advice? You either get Keith into your life again, or you get the both of them out of it. If you're going to balance between the two of them, you'll get yourself into a lot of trouble. Remember Sarah Michelson? She was going out with two guys, and when they found out, they dumped her, spread horrible rumours about her and destroyed her reputation. If Oliver finds out about your feelings for Keith, do you honestly think he'll be OK with it?_

_You're right, you're right. I know you're right._

_Good. So, to change the subject, I already have half the money I need for my plane ticket to London! _

_I can't wait for you to come!_

_Chillax, I won't be there for another 5 months. _

_Hah, like you're not excited as well!_

_OK, fine. I can't WAIT! I miss you._

_Miss you too. _

_We'll talk later. I have to go. Chad is picking me up._

_OK. Have fun you two!_

_Shut up. And we will. Bye._

_Bye._

_And pick one!_

And with that, Miriam was gone.

Ginny felt better. It was already very late. And she was getting very tired. She put her laptop on the desk and fell asleep within seconds.

Next morning Ginny had nothing to do.

Nothing at all.

So she decided to clean aunt Peg's room.

It was time to move on. And as much as Ginny liked living among all of her aunt's old clothes and jewelry and souvenirs bought from around the world, she felt now was the time to get ready for a new and better life.

And aunt Peg will be a part of it. Just not like this.

She started by cleaning the closet. She found a pile of T-shirts that she couldn't possibly fit into, because all of them were too small and/or too tight, and ripped and had paint on them.

They were proper artist T-shirts.

And Ginny wasn't an artist.

So she had to do something with them. She wanted to throw them away, but felt as though she might regret it one day. She instead went to the basement and took a few paper boxes as well as some bags, and put the T-shirts in one box, along with the rest of the clothes. Next she emptied the cupboards. She found lots of paintings, but they were more like sketches, nothing like the ones she sold at the auctions. They were very simple, and seemed more personal. On a few she recognized Richard, and on a few she even recognized herself. They were all drawn with a pencil. She felt her eyes watering up. She quickly wiped any possible tears running from her face, put the sketches into a small box, where aunt Peg kept her jewelry, and placed the box on her bed. The books aunt Peg had kept in her room were mostly all the classics Ginny had had at home, but not here, so she just removed them to clean the dust, and put them back. She found some books about design and landscapes, and she decided to put these in the living room, since Richard had very few books in his living room. Next to them she found photo albums. They were filled with photos of Ginny and her parents, and many photos of aunt Peg's friends back in the States, as well as some friends she had met here and all over Europe. There was a picture of Charlie, a picture of Knut; and pictures of the Eiffel tower, St. Peter's Church, the Rijksmuseum, the Aegean see, the Mediterranean...

She found another one, a yellow one, in which she found hundreds of photos of aunt Peg and Richard. There was one from their wedding. They looked very happy, despite aunt Peg's illness. They were smiling in many of them. Some were taken in Ireland, and the rest in London. She noticed that they both looked so happy together. In one photo, Richard was kissing Peg's cheek. And she was smiling and holding her hand on his chest.

Ginny closed the album, and threw it on the other side of the room. She hated what had happened to aunt Peg. She had never been sadder about it. They were so happy. And then she died.

At that moment, Ginny felt somewhat relieved that she was not here during that time.

She stood up and picked up the album, put it back where it stood before. She opened the next cupboard, hoping it would take her mind of the photo albums.

She spent the next four hours cleaning and organizing aunt Peg's room. It wasn't dirty; it was just full of things and dust.

OK, so maybe it was dirty.

She then put her own clothing into the closet and the books she had brought now next to aunt Peg's books on the cupboard. She vacuumed and polished everything, and she also changed her sheets and threw away the rug, because it was too old and was already falling apart. She left Manet's _A Bar at the Folies-Bergère_ on the wall, but she also put a poster of the Beatles and one small Starbucks: the Musical poster Keith had given her a long time ago. She put on a lot of photos of Miriam and herself, of her family, of Oliver, and one of Keith and Ellis and herself. She liked the colour of the walls, which were orange, so she left it. The room smelled of lemons and pines, which was a satisfying smell.

She went down to the kitchen and decided to make dinner.

She found pasta, and a lot of vegetables in the fridge, and decided to make pasta with vegetable sauce. And a cake. She wanted to keep herself busy for a while, so she wouldn't have to think of aunt Peg and Oliver and Keith and Ellis and Miriam.

She spent the next two hours in the kitchen, cooking.

When Richard came home, he was overwhelmed by the smell of vegetable sauce and a blueberry cake. They sat down and ate, and he told her several funny jokes he had heard at work today, which made them laugh so much their stomachs hurt. Richard offered to clean up, and after that, they sat down and watched a quiz (that was sort of becoming a tradition), as well as the last episode of Sherlock. This made Ginny want to read Sherlock Holmes, so she said good night to Richard around 9 o' clock, and went upstairs to read Sherlock Holmes. She remembered she had put _Sherlock Holmes-the complete stories _on the cupboard, next to a photo album. She ignored the album and sat on her bed. She opened the first story, which was _A study in scarlet, _and kept on reading till about 1:30 a.m. She put the book on her desk, went to brush her teeth, crawled into bed and fell asleep within minutes.

**OK. So, I hope this is going in a good direction. The Sherlock thing is influenced by me, because right now I'm watching and reading a lot of things about Sherlock Holmes. I'd really like if you could review and tell me what you like, and what you don't like. And thanks to all who added my story to your Story Alert. **


	6. Keith

Ginny woke up next morning around 6 and realized she couldn't fall asleep again. So she got up and stumbled to the bathroom, hitting the door with her knee. It hurt like hell, and she cursed, which is something she never does. After brushing her teeth, she went to the kitchen to make pancakes.  
>Richard awoke soon, obviously smelling the pancakes. He smiled and thanked Ginny for making breakfast.<p>

"I hadn't had many proper meals before you arrived. I missed them. Peg used to cook all the time before…" he stopped, trying to keep his voice normal, "before she got ill. She was a rather good cook. She had her ups and downs, of course, but don't we all?"  
>Ginny didn't want to talk about aunt Peg. She wanted to talk about happy things. And even though the memory of her aunt was one of her favourite memories, she didn't want to start her day with thoughts of her aunt's illness. So she changed the subject.<br>"How are things at Harrods?"

"Well… not much has changed since you were last there. It's still filled with ridiculous things. I can't imagine why anyone would bye anything there. But, who am I to judge?" he said, taking another pancake.

They sat there for a while in silence, eating. Then Richard looked at Ginny.

"Listen, Ginny…" he started, obviously not knowing how to formulate what he wanted to say," I noticed you and Oliver are… becoming rather… close. And, as your uncle, I would like to know if you're… careful."

Ginny stopped eating, and just stared at Richard for several moments. Then she swallowed her food along with her pride and decided to ask directly, although she had already begun to blush a little.

"Richard, are you asking me if Oliver and I are… sleeping…together?"

"Oh, God! No! Wait… are you?"

"No! God, this is so embarrassing."

"You're telling me."

They sat there for a while in silence before they burst out laughing.

"Oh, wow," said Richard, wiping a tear out of his eye," that was awkward. But, no, really. What I meant to say was – are things heading in the same direction as last time? Keith hurt you pretty bad."

"Yes, well… Oliver's not like that. He's a much nicer guy and it's not serious. Not that Keith was serious! – I don't know. It's nothing serious. You honestly don't have to worry."

"Good, that's… that's good."

They finished their meal. There was a good show on BBC so they decided to watch it. After a while, Richard spoke again.

"Listen, Ginny…" he started again," are you alright?"

Ginny looked away from the screen. She noticed Richard was worried.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be? I'm in London with my cool uncle, I'll be starting UCL in the fall. Of course I'm alright."

"It's just that… I know, or at least I think I know, how much you loved Peg. And how much you loved all the things you used to do together. She told me. She, uh… she loved you very much. And I can imagine it was difficult when you lost her. I know it was difficult for me. And you two were much closer. And I thought the envelopes maybe brought her closer to you."

"Uh… well, uh, I suppose they did, yeah. Of course."

"Right. So… how are you dealing without the envelopes? I know it sounds weird. I guess I want to know whether you're happy without her in your life now. Or something. God, this is difficult."

"Richard… you don't have to worry so much. I miss aunt Peg. I'll always miss her, just like I'm sure you do. And I am thankful for everything I found out about her through the envelopes. I really am. I'm just… trying to move on from that, you know? Do other things."

"Yes, yes, of course. You're right. You're a smart girl, Ginny. I guess I don't have to worry."

"I'm glad you trust me."

"Of course I do. There's just one more thing."

"What's that?"

"You're going to spend some time here. I suppose even after university you might stay here. So… I think you should talk to Keith and settle everything between you."

Ginny was standing in front of that door, looking up at the window with red curtains. They were still crooked.

She had not felt this nervous in months. She thought about ringing the bell, she thought about leaving, she thought about crawling into a hole to die. After standing there for 20 minutes, she decided to ring.

She walked up to the door and rang the bell three times. Everything was quiet for a few moments. Then she heard a muffled "Come in!" from the first floor. Honestly, thought Ginny, some crazy killer might ring one day and he'll just let him in.

She slowly opened the door and stepped inside. The house looked almost the same. There were some new posters on the wall. The carpets were clean. Come to think of it, noted Ginny, everything was clean. Ellis must be spending an awful lot of time here. She tried not to think about that. She heard footsteps on the first floor. Only one pair of legs, it would seem. He's alone then, thought Ginny. Thank God.

She slowly started to climb up the stairs. When she reached the last step her heart was beating like mad. She turned toward the room and gently pushed the door.

The room was not as clean as the house. It was filled with books and CDs and DVDs. There were dozens of posters and pictures on the wall. There was one of Keith's old car. Ginny felt a small smile appear on her face.

And there he was. Standing near the bookshelf, as tall and lean as ever, his hair slightly longer, but still so red. He was wearing an old pair of jeans and a plain black shirt. And still he was mesmerizing.

A moment later he turned around.

And there they were. A scared, shy girl and a fearless, loud boy. Just like in the beginning, one could say. But they weren't.

"Ginny? What are you doing here?"

Ginny felt her face turning as red as Keith's hair. "Well, I was… in the neighborhood?"

"I'm… sure you were."

"So… how are you?"

"Fine, yeah. Good."

"That's… good."

"Yes."

"Mm."

They stood there in silence. Then Keith said, quite loudly, "Would you like a drink? Sorry, I'm… just surprised to find you here."

"I'd like one, thanks."

"Right. Well, the kitchen's much cleaner. We ought to go there."

As they were going down the stairs, Ginny's arm accidentally touched Keith's shoulder. And there it was – that electricity that she had so long hoped to feel again.  
>Keith obviously felt the touch. He missed a step and almost fell down. They pretended that didn't happen.<p>

Once they were in the kitchen, Keith poured her a glass of orange juice.

"I was going to give you Guinness, knowing how much you like it." He said with a grin. Ginny couldn't help but laugh. The first time they met, Keith took her to a pub and she ordered Guinness, because that was the only thing she could've remembered at that moment. It was disgusting, so Keith drank it. Very fast. She thought he was the coolest person on Earth. He probably still is.

"Thank you."

Ginny drank a bit. It was good. A bit too sour. It could've been home-made.

"I saw Ellis on a train the other day."

"Ah, yes. She was going to a party."

"Yeah. She told me some stuff about you."

Keith's face was turning red. He'd remembered how he sometimes talked about Ginny. And, of course Ellis told her that, thought Keith. 'Cause that's what you're suppose to do.

"Yeah? Did the two of you have a little chat? That's nice. My two girls being friends."

Ginny felt her heart beating very fast. "Your two girls? Is that what we are?" She said jokingly. Best to keep it cool. That's what the magazines say.

"Well, of course." He said with a smile. Then, as though he had remembered something bad, he became serious again.

"So… how's Oliver? You're still seeing him?"

"Um… yeah. He's working for now, actually. How's Ellis?"

"Good. Yeah, she's good. We're… sort of dealing with something. Right now. Not at this moment, like right now, but at this point in time, it's not great."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, yeah. I mean, we've not exactly broken up; we're just going through something, so… Yeah."

"Mm."

"How long are you staying, by the way? Your aunt left you something else, did she?" He said with a smile.

"No, she's… no. I'm staying for a while, actually. I'm starting UCL in the fall."

"Oh, wow. Congratulations! That's great, Gin, really. You deserve that."

He stepped towards her and leaned in for a hug, a bit insecurely. Ginny smiled, so he wrapped his arms gently around her shoulder and her waist, and she mimicked the motion. It was a gentle, friendly hug. And that's why her body was like a tree being his by lightning.

"Thank you, Keith."

"No problem."

"For the kind words and… everything. Really, thank you so much."

Keith looked at her, a bemused look on his face.

"Is something wrong?" he said, sounding a bit worried.

"No, no! Everything's fine."

"I suppose you're going to hand me a stack of money now?"

"You've figured me out."

He gently pinched her cheek.

"You can't hide from me, mad-one. I know you and your little tricks."

Ginny was just hoping her smile wasn't going to rip her face in half.

It was starting to get rather dark outside.

"I should go." Ginny said.

"Want me to drive you?"

"In what, exactly?"

"Oh, right. I forgot."

"She was a nice car."  
>"She really was."<p>

Ginny smiled and headed for the door. She waved, and Keith waved back.

Before she opened the door, she turned around.

"Hey, Keith?"

He looked at her.

"Are we good?"

He smiled and winked.

"Of course we are, Mad Ginny Virginia of America."

Ginny smiled once more. She stepped out and closed the door. Had she not done that, she would've probably kissed him right then and there. At least on the cheek. She wrapped her jacket tighter and started walking towards a bus station.

**Thank you for your patience. I know I've been very slow, but I hope that'll change soon.**


	7. The realization(s)

A weak rain had begun to fall as Ginny made her way back home. People were just starting to go out, the pubs and restaurants were slowly filling up, but the few discos she passed were still empty.  
>She hadn't felt this relaxed since her little rendezvous with Oliver a few days back. Keith and her were finally good.<br>As she slowly turned towards the bus station, a thought stopped her in her tracks.  
>She remembered the last time she was walking away from Keith's home. Almost 7 months ago, a few hours before she read the last ever little blue envelope. She felt so different than ever before.<br>Today, when she came back to this place, she was nervous and excited.  
>But, even with the blushing, lightning stuff and fast heart beating, she now knew she didn't want Keith to kiss her. She didn't want him to tell her sweet, romantic things. It wasn't really his thing, either. But she didn't need him to do it. She didn't want Keith to take her out on dates. She wanted Oliver to do all those things.<br>In that moment she realized all the chats, and that one phone call, and the occasional Skype conversation, all these things she did with Oliver over the past 6 months have meant so much to her. And, if someone had asked her to pick, right then and there, on that street corner, if she wanted Keith or Oliver to take her to restaurants, movies, dates, walks, museums, concerts, to kiss her and tell her sweet, romantic things, she would have picked Oliver. And if that someone asked her to go home, and think over whom she would choose, she would still pick Oliver. And if that someone told her to write down the pros and cons of either boy, she would still pick Oliver.  
>She didn't want to give up Keith as a friend. And this today, to Ginny it meant they were still friends. And that friendship was, together with Miriam's and Oliver's, the dearest friendship in her life.<br>It felt so calming to finally sort her feeling out. Ever since their adventure this winter, up till now, she was so confused. It happens many times that you find yourself feeling sad about something, and some time passes, and you start to wonder why you were sad in the first place, and you realize you don't have to be sad. Ginny felt like that towards Keith. She spent time talking about him to Miriam to convince herself she and him were finally over, to grasp that it wasn't anything more than friendship, if it even still was friendship. But it was, and it will probably always be.  
>And something else was clear to Ginny. The reason why her and Keith could never really make it work. It's not because they didn't want it to be something, or there was something in the way. They were just too different to function properly. And when people say differences attract, they're proof that they really do. It just doesn't always happen that these differences manage to form a healthy, functional romantic relationship. And they don't always have to.<br>She and Oliver, on the other hand, were much more similar. They were quiet, reserved, polite and shy, and they both saw this in each other. And that was part of the reason why they worked together. And they were attracted to each other. Oliver was quite handsome, and he must have found something attractive about Ginny.  
>So they functioned just right.<p>

The bus arrived, and Ginny got on it. Her head was clear, and she was high on excitement about her realization. She thought about doing some sightseeing, but then she got a text from Richard. It said 'I'm finished for today. Want to meet in front of Harrods? Really good Indian restaurant down the street?'  
>She smiled and replied 'Be there in 30 minutes.' Indian restaurant were slowly becoming their tradition. Ginny had never been to an Indian restaurant before that night when Fiona and David had a fight, and Keith took David and Ginny to one for a comfort meal. And later she went to a few with Richard as well. She really grew to like them, and even started ordering from them back home in New Jersey. She and Miriam would go to one every third Friday on the month, to keep a healthy break between visits. So, yeah, a new tradition. That, and quizzes.<br>She got of this bus, and took the tube to Harrods. She found Richard outside. He smiled, and they walked toward the restaurant. I really was just down the street. They went in and were seated in the corner.  
>"Any idea what you want?" he said, examining the menu.<br>"Still not quite used to the lingo. No idea," she said, slowly turning the pages.  
>"This is good," he said, pointing to a dish in the curry section.<br>"Then I'll have that," she said, memorizing the name, and closing the menu.  
>"You trust me, just like that? I could have recommended something truly disgusting," he said and smiled, making his pick and closing the menu.<br>"Ah, yes. But you wouldn't want me to stop going to Indian restaurants, would you now?" she said, smiling.  
>"Clearly not," he smiled, and waved at the nearby waiter. The waiter came and Richard ordered the food.<br>It arrived in very quickly. A lot of employees, Richard explained.  
>"So, tell me about your day."<br>Ginny looked up from her mild curry chicken (which was delicious) and thought about how to sum up what went through her head this morning.  
>She decided to explain as simply as she possibly could.<br>"Well, it was pretty good."  
>That went swell.<br>"Ok. Anything special happened?" Richard asked, cutting another piece of his curry lamb.  
>"I spoke to Keith. And it went very well. And we cleared it out. I mean, we cleared something out last time as well, but I think we really did sort it out today."<br>Richard swallowed, and nodded. " It's good to hear that. I suppose you're still friends?"  
>Ginny nodded. " I think we went through a lot, with all the letters and tasks and travelling, to just break all connections."<br>"Sounds very reasonable. I'm glad you're happy with the outcome."  
>"I am. Very happy. I'm just glad we're still friends, you know. He's an important person in my life."<br>She knew Richard understood. It was almost like him and Aunt Peg, minus the 'love' bit. That was on a different level than what she and Keith had.  
>"I know. And, I just wanted to say, I'm really happy you're here, Ginny. I feel... much less alone. And I'm very thankful for that," Richard said, not looking directly into Ginny's eyes, but focusing on a spot on the table.<br>Ginny suddenly felt a lump in her throat. She knew how lonely Richard must have felt after Aunt Peg died. She was a difficult person to forget, and her death left an even more difficult emptiness to replace. She knew, because she felt it too.  
>And meeting the man Aunt Peg loved, and finding out all these things about her, these things filled the emptiness inside.<br>Another big thought, third one today, hit her. She sat up straight and turned towards Richard, who was looking at her, wondering if anything was wrong.  
>"Finish that," Ginny said, pointing at his food. " Finish it, so we can go home. I've got something to show you."<br>"O-k." Richard said, and put the last piece in his mouth. He chewed it, and waved at the waiter for the receipt. The waiter came back, pulled the receipt from his pocket, and slowly pushed it towards Richard' face. Richard politely took it from the waiter's hand and paid. The waiter smiled, said something on the lines of 'thankyouforeatingherepleasec omeagainhaveagooddaygoodbye', smiled some more, and strolled away.  
>The two of them got up, and made their way out.<p>

When they got home, Ginny rushed to her, Aunt Peg's, room, and reached under the bed for an old shoebox. She pulled it out and took it downstairs. Richard was sitting at the sofa, clearly confused.  
>"What's going on?" he asked.<br>Ginny sat down, putting the box on her knees.

"I've got these things. Like, pictures and paintings, that she made of you. And I don't know if you've ever seen them. And the envelopes." she said, catching her breath.  
>"What... what about them?" he said, looking at the box.<br>"Well... you've never really seen them. Because I didn't even remember to show them to you. I mean, you saw them, before you sent them, but you've never read them. And I think that's not fair. You saved me last summer, and you've done a lot this winter, and you're letting me stay here, for free, and live with you while I go to school, and not to mention what you meant to her. And... I don't know. I think you are entitled to, that you deserve to, know these things. To know more about her. You know that she loved you." she said, looking at the box. "She would've wanted you to know at some point."  
>Richard was looking at her, and at the box, with a sad expression. But it was a good kind of sad, a sort of half sad, half happy expression.<br>"Are you sure? I mean, they were very personal." he said, still quite reserved.  
>Ginny thought about that for a second.<br>"Oliver read them all when he found them, and he was a total stranger. That felt a bit weird. You're you. You knew her before and during the illness. It's different. She wouldn't mind. She'd encourage you to do it. And I really think you should. Fill up the emptiness, you know? It worked for me," she said, handing him the box.

Richard took it and looked at Ginny one more time. They both nodded, first he, then she. He opened it, and took out the pictures.  
>There were many: of him in his working suit, then at their wedding, then a few from Ireland, as well as the one with him kissing Peg's head, while her arm was on his chest. Richard's eyes lingered on that one.<br>The sketches showed him making food, decorating the house for her birthday, and then there were many of just his face - smiles, frowns- and then some of the two of them. You could already see the tumor affecting her perception. They were very different height - he was too tall, she was almost as small as an ant, then it was the opposite, then there were many that looked like caricatures, and so on.  
>Richard's eyes welled up. Ginny started feeling sad as well. She wanted to give him some privacy. She stood up, gently patted his shoulder, and went up to her room. When she looked back one more time, she saw him look at the envelope and gently glide his fingers across the drawings. He smiled, and she knew she had done the right thing.<br>The whole 'walking down memory lane' made her feel sad, so she started up her computer and thought she might talk to Oliver or Miriam. Or even Keith.  
>Oliver wasn't there. Ginny figured as much. He was still at work.<br>Keith wasn't there either.  
>But Ginny smiled wildly as she noticed Miriam's name.<br>She started typing_._

How you doin'?

A reply came a few seconds later.

_I was literally just typing the same thing. How are you?_

Perfect. You?

Meh... ok. What happened? 'Perfect'? Aaaaa! Tell me everything! Who did you pick?

Ok, ok! Oh, wow, where to start? I spoke to Keith.

And?

I'm getting there.

Right, right! Sorry.

I never thought we'd be having this conversation - me, picking between 2 boys.

Yeah, right. It was bound to come.

Anyway...

Tell me!

Right! I spoke to Keith, and we resolved all the bumps, I think. And... Now we're just friends.

O. M. G. You picked Oliver!

Is that a good line of '!', or a bad line of '!'?

A spectacular line of '!'! I mean - good if you're happy!

I am.

I'm such an idiot. The 'perfect' was an obvious clue... I'm soo happy for you Gin! I wish I could be there, so we could celebrate! I miss you so much!

I wish you were here to! And I miss you like mad, Mir! Why can't Christmas be here already?!

I know! Aaarhg, I hate this! But my cam is broken, so we can't Skype, and urgh!

Soon!

I hope so! : *

Listen... can I ask you something?

Sure, babe.

Was it really 70-30?

Ah... it was more like 55-45. Or 60-40.

Oh, thank the Lord. You made me feel like such an ass.

That was sort of the intention.

Really?

...Sort of.

Sometimes, Mir, I swear, you like to torture my soul.

But it helped!

Yeah, what ever. How are things back home?

Oh, you know. Same old, same old.

Are you having fun?

Oh, yes. Getting ready for college is really fun. I don't know why we haven't done this before, Gin.

You're joking, right?

It's really hard to convey sarcasm through chat.

I know. But hey, I get it most of the time!

Yeah. Sorry, I forgot to ask. How are things with Keith and his girl?

Apparently not so good. They're going through something. Maybe a fight or something.

So... you gonna to do something about that?

Like what?

I don't know. I thought friends help friends in situations like this?

Yes, and you know me - so very experienced.

It was just a suggestion.

You're probably right.

Almost always am, ma'am.

But what?

No idea. One of your aunt's letters would come in handy right about now.

I had that same thought today.

But that's not gonna happen. So what's you're next best option?

Ginny thought for a while. Mir was right. She should do something. But she had no idea what.

_I have absolutely no idea. Maybe they'll work it out on their own?_

Maybe they will. Wait a little, and if nothing changes, do something.

Good plan. I wish you were here, to help me work it out!

Me, too, Gin!

As she was about to write something else, a new chat box opened. It was Oliver.

_Well, hello there._

Ginny's heart must have skipped a beat. After her realization today, she felt even more smitten with Oliver.  
>She replied to Miriam first.<p>

_I have to go. Oliver's online._

Eeek! Say HI! And have fun! Love you!

Love you too! We'll take soon?

Of course! Don't leave your boyfriend waiting! BYE!

Bye! : *

Her eyes flickered over 'boyfriend' one more time, and she closed the chat box with Miriam.  
>She responded to Oliver.<p>

_Who are you, handsome stranger?_

Oh, I found your e-mail address on a backpack in Turkey. Just thought I'd check if you were cool enough to talk to.

Ginny giggled. Oliver sometimes wrote like this. Not often, so it wasn't annoying or cheesy, at least not to Ginny. It was a bit like flirting, really. Not really Ginny's specialty, but she tried. Never would've thought it was Oliver's either, but he was rather good at it.

_Oh, so much pressure. I have to impress you with my intellect and wit._

Well? I'm waiting. Write something intelligent and witty.

How about the first 15 numerals of Pi?

Oh?

Ready?

Naturally.

3,1415926535389793.

It took her exactly 5 second to type that.  
>Oliver responded after 20 seconds.<p>

_Had to check it. Very impressive._

Am I interesting enough to talk to?

_You'll have to do for now._

Thank you, my Lord.

I should think so.

How are you, anyway?

Good. I mean, bored to death at work, but other than that, good. You?

Good. Very good.

That's nice to hear.

Ginny was grinning like an idiot.

_Why don't you get a job somewhere else if the Elephant is so boring?_

It's not exactly easy to get a job just like that.

I know, I know. I'm sorry.

Why are you apologizing?

I didn't sound very intelligent with my previous comment.

So you felt the need to apologize?

I had to, so you wouldn't leave the chat.

It was getting really cheesy now.

_Well, I'm not convinced._

At least he got it. But Ginny new he would.  
>He responded again.<p>

_Right, well, I'm out of cheesy lines._

Her heart skipped another beat. And she kept grinning like an idiot.

_Good, 'cause my last one was really overly tacky._

I noticed. I tried my best to respond. I hope I didn't disappoint too much.

You did well.

Thank you.

I'm proud.

So, what did you do today?

Ginny thought about what to write. The truth? Well, if she was planning on progressing with Oliver that was the right way to go.

_I went to visit Keith._

He didn't respond for a minute, Oh God no, thought Ginny.

_Oh?_

Stay calm, she told herself.

_Yeah._

Did anything happen?

We just sorted all the stuff between us, I think.

What does that mean, exactly?

Well, I suppose it means there are no awkward situations.

Right. Well, that's good.

Yeah.

It's quite late.

Oliver.

Yes?

Nothing happened.

I thought you worked it out?

No, I mean, we did work it out. But... nothing happened between us. If you know what I mean.

I don't really understand.

I didn't kiss him!

His response came a minute later.

_I never said you did._

I know. I just wanted you to know.

I knew.

How?

I trust you, Ginny.

She felt a lump in her heart again. Oh, did this whole liking-loving somebody really feel this heavy around you heart, Ginny thought.  
>And there it was. Another realization.<br>She loved Oliver.  
>Well, it took you long enough to finally admit it, she said out loud to her brain. Or her heart. Or wherever.<p>

_Thanks._

Mature.

_No problemo._

He went that way too.

_Say hi to your uncle._

I will.

I'll talk to you tomorrow.

What if I can't sleep?

That happened a few times. She had nightmares, once about Aunt Peg, once about Keith, and a few times about Oliver. She went on chat, and he was there. He didn't tell her to go to bed. They talked about books, movies, cities, people. And she felt safe. And she liked him even more for that. Now, looking back, she might have even loved him for that.

_Just call me._

Thank you.

Good night.

Good night.

I'm glad you're here. In this time zone. And only about an hour away from me.

I'm glad too.

He logged off. Ginny did the same. She closed her computer and went to brush her teeth. When she walked out she noticed Richard asleep on the couch. He was holding the picture of him and Aunt Peg.  
>Ginny removed all the other pictures and the envelopes and covered Richard with a blanket. He looked peaceful.<br>She quietly went upstairs to bed. She thought about Richard and Aunt Peg, Keith and Ellis, Mir and her friends and family back home. And she thought about Oliver. She fell asleep thinking about Oliver brushing his fingers through her hair. 

**I am really sorry it has taken me this long to update! It's just been really hectic, and I went through a nasty writer's block, because I jus wanted to develop the story nicely. I'm happy to say I'm over that, and I have written and developed quite a lot now, so the chapters will be up quicker - first these three, and then one every Thursday, I hope. Thank you if you're still reading! And once again, I'm really sorry.**


	8. Something new and something blue

The next week went by quite fast, which was a good thing. Oliver called Ginny, saying he had to visit his grandparents in Brighton. This meant they couldn't see each other for at least a few days. It didn't sound bad at the time, but the week, and the few days before, meant Ginny wouldn't see Oliver for over 9 days. It would have been bearable had she not just realized the depth of her feelings for him. She thought about it, making sure she was right. Ginny didn't know that much about love to know for sure. She thought about what to do. The answer came to her while she was eating Chinese takeaway one night when Richard was working later than usual. Oliver had just left for Brighton. She went online and found a phone number of a person she thought might just point her in the right direction.  
>The phone rang a few times. Then someone picked up.<br>"Hullo?" a Scottish voice welcomed her on the other end.  
>"Mari? Hi, it's Ginny Blackstone," Ginny said, realizing the 'Blackstone' was unnecessary.<br>"Ginny, love, it's so nice to hear from you! How are you?" Mari said. The lovely thing about Mari was she really did seem interested. Aunt Peg had that same quality.  
>"I'm great, thank you. You?"<br>"Oh, dear, you know, I'm holding in there. So, what are you calling about? Is everything alright?"  
>"Uh, yeah, yeah. Everything's fine. I just... need some advice."<br>"Sure, darling. What is it?"  
>"I... I was wondering if you could tell me... did you ever paint... when you were in love?" Ginny said, slightly amazed at the way that question was formed.<br>"Oh, my sweet, we always paint when we're in love. Love is truly a well of eternal inspiration.  
>Ok, so maybe that wasn't the best choice, thought Ginny.<br>"What I meant was... when you were in love... with a certain person, what did those paintings look like?" Better, thought Ginny.  
>"Well... that would obviously depend on the person. But, for example, when I loved an adventurous, open person, I painted wild landscapes and sea storms, and there was lots of orange, I remember that. But when I loved a calm, quiet person, I painted the seas after the storm, and islands. And I used green. But, my dear, there's one very important detail. In order to paint these thing, a person must first discover what is in their heart."<br>"And how did you do that?" Ginny asked, hoping her real question would be answered.  
>"I thought, long and hard, about the people I cared about. The little things that made them different from other people. Their little habits, like the way they held their hands or held the spoon when they eat soup, or the way they held my hands and looked at me. And I thought about how much I thought about them. And I thought about their hair, 'cause that was always a weakness with me, and I thought about their lips, 'cause, really, there's nothing more beautiful about a person than their lips. And I thought about their voice. And if all these things made me feel a knot around my stomach, a pain in my heart and a lump in my throat, then that person was the one I loved."<br>Mari finished her speech. Ginny was quiet for a while.  
>"Does that sound about right to you, dear?" Mari asked after a few moment.<br>"Uh... yes. Yeah. Good. Sounded... just about right." Ginny said, still not quite over the information she just received.  
>"Mm," Mari said," how about you call me when you decide if the quiet one really is the one?"<br>Ginny's head snapped. "How..."  
>"I noticed the way he looked at you at the auction. Besides, he's rather gorgeous, if you don't mind me saying. I liked the last one as well, but he wasn't right for you. You're better off as friends, which I hope you'll be for a long time. The tall, dark one, he's much more your type. But don't let that influence your decision. So, call me soon, love."<br>"Yes, I will. Thank you, Mari," Ginny said, still in shock.  
>"Anytime, dear," Mari said, and hung up.<br>Ginny put her phone down and stared at it for a few more minutes. Mari must have seen them when they were out. Or she hired someone to follow them. Or she hacked their accounts and read their chats. Anything, because this was just too weird, even for Mari Adams. Ginny shook her head, and sat on the bed. She rested her back against the wall.

She decided to do what Mari told her. She thought long and hard about Oliver.  
>She pictured him, in his long, black coat, holding a lighter, fiddling with it. She imagined a cigarette in his mouth. She thought about his t-shirt, and those bloody boxer shorts from Belgium. She thought about his long palms, and the how gently he held her hand in Kensington gardens. And she thought about his black bag, and his coat. She thought about his hair, which had grown a bit now. It suited him perfectly. And she thought about his eyes, cause that has always been a weakness for Ginny. He had beautiful, calming and warm dark eyes. And she even, just for a few moments, remembered the really nice way the t-shirt in Belgium stretched over his chest. And she remembered his strong back in Dublin. And she remembered the kisses. She remembered all the kisses they shared. She could count them all on the fingers of her hands. They kissed more times than her and Keith, that's for sure. Oliver was a wonderful kisser. Ginny had a limited experience in that area, but even she could tell he was a wonderful kisser. And she thought about his voice. It was deep, sort of rumbly, and very soothing. He was a great narrator. She remembered when he narrated the first few chapters of Harry Potter in Amsterdam. His voice sounded even nicer to her now. And she remembered the chats, the skyping, and that one conversation that melted her heart.<br>She had to snap out of it, or she was going to spend all night thinking about Oliver.  
>And then she felt it. The small knot around her stomach, growing slowly stronger; the pain around her heart - growing, then shrinking with each heart beat; and the lump in her throat, which made it almost impossible for her to swallow, and she could hardly breath.<br>She opened the window to let some fresh air in. She breather loudly for a few moments. Then the knot loosened, the pain was slowly going away, and the lump almost disappeared. She tried to think about something to distract her from Oliver.  
>She ended up thinking about squashes.<p>

**T**he week passed. On the day before Oliver's return, Ginny rolled out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom. She carelessly brushed her teeth and made her way toward the kitchen. Richard wasn't there, but she noticed her shoes in the hallway, so he was still at home. She made tea and opened the cupboards to find food. She found peanut butter and quietly laughed. Richard really did buy just about everything. A few minutes later she heard footsteps. Richard emerged, still dressed in his pyjamas. He waved and pointed at his throat. Ginny nodded and pulled the honey out of a cupboard. He smiled and mouthed 'thanks'.  
>While Richard was drinking his tea, Ginny finished her toast and went to her room to get dressed. She went in and was almost blinded by the light that was shining through the window and all the candy wrappers on the wall mirrored it. She didn't want to take them off. A little bit of Aunt Peg was always nice.<br>She went back to the kitchen. Richard was still drinking his tea.  
>"I noticed you painted Aunt Peg's room orange," she said, pouring herself a glass of water.<br>He nodded. " The paint was slowly coming off and it looked like an abandoned hospital," he said, his voice weak.  
>Ginny nodded. "She would've done it too, I suppose. It's a nice shade."<br>Richard nodded, but didn't say anything. Must be spearing the throat, Ginny thought.  
>They spent the next few moments in silence. Richard finished his tea and pointed to his wrist, as to say 'I have a job and need to be on my way'. Ginny nodded. He went to get dressed. He was dressed and ready to go in about 5 minutes.<br>"If you need anything...," he said, tying his shoe.  
>"I know where to find you," she finished.<br>Richard nodded one more time, grabbed his keys and went out.  
>Ginny was alone again.<br>She spent the next few minutes cleaning up in the kitchen. Then she swept all the floors, cleaned the windows and rearranged the groceries in the cupboards. It took her two hours.  
>She had run out of things to do when she heard the bell. She rushed toward the door, wondering who it might be.<br>It should have come as no surprise to find a moving truck, and a mailman standing in front of the door.  
>"Are you Virginia Blackstone?" the man said with a heavy cockney accent.<br>"Yes, Ginny. Virginia." Two names. Again.  
>The man looked at her and nodded.<br>"Good to know. Just sign here, here and here," he said, pointing at the three lines on his clipboard.  
>She signed, and noticed a large pile of boxes at the doorstep.<br>"Do you need any help with bringing this in?" the man said.  
>"No, thank you. I'll manage."<br>The man nodded at the other men in blue uniforms, then nodded at her, put the clipboard into his bag, turned, and left.  
>A few moments later Ginny was standing there, surrounded by 20 boxes.<br>She knew she had enough time on her hands to bring everything in and unpack. It would still take her a lot of time. She knew some of the boxes were quite heavy. She found a letter taped to one. It read:  
><em><br>Dearest Ginny;  
>we hope you had a pleasant journey. We mailed the boxes the same day you left, so you should be settled in by the time they got there. We'll call you soon. We hope you're having a lovely time. Send us an e-mail.<br>Love you lots,  
>Mom &amp; Dad<em>

Ginny closed the letter, and put it in her pocket. She looked at all the boxes and sighed. Time to get started.  
>As she was reaching for the first box, she heard a familiar voice.<br>"Oi!"  
>Ginny looked up and saw Keith and Ellis, who were walking toward her, holding hands. They fixed it, thought Ginny. She felt a small wave of relief was over her. Ellis waved and smiled.<br>"Hi! Oh, wow, what are all these?" she asked, looking at the boxes.  
>"You killed someone, didn't you? Did Ollie put you up to it?" Keith said, and Ellis punched him in the shoulder. He looked at her, and she frowned.<br>"Sorry," he said to Ginny  
>"It's fine. And no, these are not body parts. My parents sent the rest of my things from home. Since I'll be living here for a while."<br>"That's a lot of things," Keith said, examining all the boxes.  
>"Yeah. It's mostly clothing, books, and other little things. Plus, my parents must have packet something like my ice skates, cameras and such," Ginny said, looking at the boxes.<br>"That's still a lot of things," Keith said, now looking at Ginny.  
>"I bet you need some help! We were in the neighbourhood, and we thought about visiting you, but now we're here, and you need help, so why don't we help?" Ellis said.<br>"Yeah, yeah. And you know how much I like to... clean," Keith said, now looking at Ellis, who was smiling.  
>"Thank you, guys, but you don't have to."<br>"Nonsense! We're here, we're your friends, and so it only stands to reason we help you! Our favourite adventurer!" Ellis said, reaching for the first box.  
>"Yeah, you know me, Indiana Jones, Jr." Ginny said, taking another box.<br>"So... where do we put them?" Keith asked, taking a box of his own.  
>"Just bring them in, and then I'll decide."<br>"You're the boss, apple sauce! Is that the expression? Did I get it right?" Ellis said, smiling.  
>Ginny couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, it is."<br>"Good."  
>They started taking the boxes inside. It took them about 5 minutes, since there were three of them. As they were walking in and out the door, Ginny's hand brushed Keith's once.<br>And the electricity wasn't as strong as before. She hardly felt it at all. Keith didn't stumble or trip over anything, so he probably didn't feel it as well.  
>When they finished, they went into the living room and crashed on the couch.<br>"No offense, Gin, but did your parents send you rocks from home? You know, to remember the stones of New Jersey, on which your youthful feet once stumbled on, all those eons ago?" Keith said, his voice turning a bit deeper and more Shakespearean like.  
>"I would be surprised," Ginny said, getting up, "Do you want something to drink?"<br>"Yes, please," Ellis said, getting up as well, "I'll help!"  
>Keith rolled his eyes, and got up as well.<br>"We'll just drink it in the kitchen then, shall we?" he said, following them.  
>So the three of them stood there, drinking tea. After they'd finished, Ellis and Keith went to get their jackets.<br>"We wanted to go see an exhibition at the Tate. You want to come along?" Keith asked, helping Ellis into her jacket.  
>"Thanks, but I think I should unpack now, while I still have some desire to do it. Otherwise, the boxes will just be here for a long time." Ginny said.<br>Keith nodded. They went toward the door.  
>"If you need any help, just call us, yeah?" Ellis said.<br>"Sure. Thanks again."  
>They both smiled and waved. They went down the stairs. Keith reached for Ellis's hand, and they walked away. He turned one more time and waved. Ginny waved back.<br>She went inside. The boxes occupied most of the hallway, and a little bit of the living room. Ginny sighed, and picked up the first one.  
>It didn't take her that long to bring them all into her room. She was just bringing in one of the final boxes, when her bracelet got caught on the doorknob and broke. The beads flew across the room. They rolled on the floor - and disappeared.<br>Ginny stared at the floor. They were just there, she thought.  
>She ducked, thinking she might've missed them. But she couldn't see them. The beads were quite small, but not small enough to fall between the wooden boards.<br>She touched one board, which was separated quite a bit from the one next to it, and it moved. Ginny stared at it, and shook it a bit.  
>If she found something narrow, she might be able to lift it, because it was obviously not put in right. She grabbed her Swiss army knife and lifted the plank.<p>

Underneath it was a secret compartment. Just a thing Aunt Peg might've had in her room. It wasn't very big - a little bit bigger than a shoebox. Ginny reached inside it. She felt a pile of papers and picked it up. She took it out of the compartment.  
>She just stared at it for a minute. When she realized what she was holding, she didn't know whether to cry or laugh.<br>On top of a pile of papers was a little blue envelope.


	9. Number 14

Ginny thought she had seen the last of the little blue envelopes.  
>She thought there had been thirteen, and after them she wouldn't travel all over Europe and look for Aunt Peg's art.<br>She wasn't sure if that was a good thing, or a bad thing.  
>That was why finding this envelope was a shocker.<br>She examined it. It didn't have a number on it. And she remembered Aunt Peg specifically saying there'd be only 13 envelopes. There wasn't a drawing on this one, only one line of text, which read:  
><em>'To whom it may concern'<br>_Seeing as the chances of anyone else ever finding it were rather slim, Ginny decided to open it. She was sure Aunt Peg wouldn't mind.  
>Her hands were shaking. She opened it with that fancy letter opener, and took out the piece of paper.<br>It was a piece of fine, hand-made paper. Ginny was skilled enough to recognize that. It was bent in half. She straightened it.  
>For a moment, she wondered what it felt like when the envelope wasn't meant for you. It would probably feel like a punch to the stomach.<br>She looked at it and started reading it.

_Dear reader!  
>I am fairly certain that, by the time you find this, I'll be long gone. Don't feel bad about that. You could've done nothing to help.<br>You're probably wondering what this is doing in a secret hole under my floorboards. Well, that's a funny story. Got a minute? I'm sure you do. You must have a little bit of adventure in you.  
>A few months ago I discovered I have cancer. And let me tell you, it's not a nice thing to hear. I'm pretty sure the feeling still hasn't quite sunk in yet. But I'm starting to feel a bit hollow and scared. So it must be sinking in right now. About bloody time. Richard, my husband (it's so nice to say, since I've been crazy about him for ages) is taking care of me. He's like that, Richard. Nice, caring, devoted. I'm thankful I have him by my side.<br>The reason I'm writing this piece of paper you're holding right now is because I know I don't have much time. It's not the whole 'I feel it in my bones' thing. I just know. __Because people with brain cancer don't live for very long.__  
>So I need to ask another favor, Ginny.<em>

Ginny had to stop reading because it felt like her heart might explode. There is no way in hell Aunt Peg would've known Ginny would find this. Even though she was very often right about these sort of things, this was just scary, even for her.  
>She breathed deeply for a few moments, and continued to read.<p>

_Oh, come on. I know it will be you. You'll somehow notice the moving plank. And, besides, you're the only one who was adventurous and brave enough to even consider doing the things I told you to do. And I don't mean just the envelopes, which I really hope you did. Gin, I'm talking about all those times you and I ever did anything. You were the most perfect niece a person could hope to have. And I am so very thankful I had you._

Tears were starting to fall down Ginny's cheeks and smudging the paper. She quickly wiped them to prevent any further smudging. She breathed deeply a few more times, and went on with the reading.

_So, will you do this for me? Please._

Of course she would.

_I know you might not want to. You'll want to move on with your life. I wouldn't want to track down old doors and filthy glass anymore either.  
>But there are no more artworks to track down, Gin. All the things that could've been sold were, by the time you read this, probably sold. Nice sum of money, isn't it? I hope it'll do you good. Think of it as my contribution to college. Or whatever comes after.<br>Underneath this envelope you will find a pile of paintings and a few letters. There are names on the letters, but not on the paintings.  
>Here's what I need you to do, Gin:<br>You can read the letters if you want to. They are personal, but nothing you shouldn't know. The next thing will be to look over all the paintings. You'll have to pick which paining was meant for which person, because I honestly don't have the strength or the will to do that now. When you've done that, you'll need to put the letters and the paintings you've assigned to them into envelopes. And then I'm going to need you to give them to those people.  
>And when I say give, I really do mean go to their house and put the letter into their hands.<br>I don't want you to send them the letters, Gin. It'd be really sad - they'd get the letter and it would say 'Hi, how's life? Oh, btw, I'm dead. Funny, yeah, how things work out? Have some pictures. Ciao.' You know?  
>So, please, Ginny. I didn't have time to say goodbye to my friends. I was just running away for so long, I felt like I'd have all the time in the world to have tea parties, go to movies and see art exhibitions. Guess I was wrong. And now I'm asking you to clean up my mess, yet again.<br>But it's different this time. I want them to know that they made my life what it was. You know what you and your parents meant to me, Gin. I really hope I don't have to prove to you how important you were to me, because I can't. I'm not there anymore. I'm dying, and now I'm most likely gone. So there's that.  
>I hope you've saved the envelopes, and I hope you'll save this one. Because, my dearest Virginia, there are no more letters. The 13th envelope kinda contradicts this one, doesn't it? But you know what they say - 'many great ideas come even after a plan or a thought has been brought to life'. Actually, now that I think of it, I don't really think they say that. Hey, what do you know? I turned wise in my dying hour. It feels really nice. Would you mind if I didn't finish this one either? Maybe I'll remember something else. And I don't have any more envelopes. I accidentally bought fourteen, but it turned out I needed an extra one. Funny how life sometimes beats you to it, isn't it?<br>I hope you managed to find an imaginative way to discover this secret hole. Do you know how I found it? I was sewing a button on my dress, and the whole box with the needles fell of the bed, and all the things in it rolled on the floor and then disappeared. So I searched, and searched, and then I noticed the gap between these two boards, and voila! It was like that scene in 'Amelie', you know?  
>Well, I'm out of things to write right now. Richard's bringing me tomato soup. He made it, and I drew him while he was cooking. I should eat now. It smells really good. How about we end today with a conversation? 'What did you think of the weather today?' I'll say. And you'll respond with...<em>

And the letter ended. Ginny was able to hold back the tears for the duration of the reading, but she was crying now. She was looking at the last ever letter her aunt had intended for her. She breathed deeply for another few moments. Then her breathing settled, and she wasn't crying anymore.  
>It was a good ending. Not a solid one, but that was the intention. Just how Aunt Peg would've wanted it.<br>Ginny crawled to the bed and got on it. She closed her eyes and thought of the little blue envelopes, and just what they had brought her.  
>She remembered all the places she had visited, all the people she'd met, all the obstacles she had overcome, and how all these things changed her for the better.<br>That was the magical thing with Aunt Peg. She would change you for the better.  
>Ginny looked at the clock on her bedside cupboard. Oliver's train would be arriving in 30 minutes. She quickly jumped up and looked down at the papers and paintings. She put them back in the 'secret hole'. She'd look at them carefully tomorrow and sort them out. She'll probably ask Oliver, Keith and Ellis to help her. Maybe even Richard would.<br>Oliver. Her entire body shivered with excitement and anticipation of seeing him again. I really do love him, thought Ginny with a smile.  
>She got ready quite quickly and refreshed her face to remove any trace of crying. She left a note for Richard, and went out the door.<br>She came to the station rather fast. His train was just coming in. She calmed herself, saying 'Don't get too excited, don't get too excited'.  
>Just then Oliver stepped out of the train. He looked the same. Ginny's heart was doing loops and jumps, and a lump was forming in her throat again. She took a few deep breaths and waved.<br>Oliver noticed her, and his entire face lit up. He rushed to her. She almost jumped at him, and they kissed.  
>It felt perfect to have him near her.<br>Oliver ran his hand through her hair and down her back, and Ginny felt like she might explode.  
>They broke apart and smiled at each other. He took her hand, and they went toward the exit, into the chilly London night.<p> 


	10. Night out

"So, how was your trip?" Ginny asked when they sat down in a quiet cafe.

"It was rather good," Oliver said, stirring his tea.

"What did you do for a week?" Ginny said, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Well, I mostly walked around, since I know Brighton like the back of hand. I've spent many summers there."

"Mm. I've never been to Brighton."

"Oh, you'd like it. It's really nice."

"Maybe we could go there sometime."

"That sounds like a great idea," Oliver said, leaning closer.

Ginny leaned as well. "So. Did you get lonely?"

"I most certainly did."

"Me too."

"But you had Keith to keep you company."

"Of course. I always go behind your back."

"I truly am shocked," Oliver said, moving a bit back to drink his tea.

"Yes, well, that's just my American blood."

"I should have known better."

"Well, you'll know for next time."

Oliver smiled and drank the rest of his tea. "Well, I really don't feel like sitting here. What do you say to a small walk?"

"I'd be delighted," Ginny said and finished her drink, while Oliver paid.

They got up and walked out of the cafe. The evening was quite chilly. Ginny reached for Oliver's hand, and he accepted it without hesitation.  
>They slowly walked in no particular direction. They reached the bank of the Thames, and sat down on a bench near the Parliament, with a lovely view of the Houses of Parliament.<p>

They talked about all sorts of things - the movies they wanted to see, the exciting exhibitions held in London ("How about we see the Bowie one in V&A?" said Oliver, and Ginny wholeheartedly agreed), the festivals, concerts that were being held, books they were dying to read. The conversation flowed, and it felt wonderful.

After a while, Oliver fully turned to Ginny.

"What is it?" Ginny asked.

"I have... something important to tell you."

"Right... What is it?"

"There's a reason I was in Brighton this week."

They were quiet for a moment.

"Are you grandparents alright?" Ginny asked a bit worried.

"No, no, they're fine! The reason I went to Brighton was because they wanted to talk to me about my... education."

"Right."

"They, uh, said they disliked the idea of me being a waiter."

"But you're not," Ginny said with a small smile.

Oliver smiled as well. "It's pointless to try and explain it to them. They'll just keep going 'waiter, waiter'. Anyway, they said I should rethink my choices. It's not that I haven't before, but they insisted with the whole 'you have so much potential, you have to use it'."

"But you do," Ginny said.

Oliver smiled, took Ginny's hand and gently entwined their fingers.

Ginny squeezed his hand as an encouragement for him to continue.

"I thought that, after my father walked out, I wouldn't have a chance to continue my education, because I'd have to help my mother. And I'd made my peace with it. I said to myself 'you'll get used to the Elephant' and so on. It's enough to say I haven't."

He went quiet for another moment, looking at their hands.

"I thought about it on the train. It's a bit late to continue my old course now," he continued, "But, if I were to save money, I might try... again... next year."

He looked up at Ginny. She couldn't help but smile. He smiled as well, and she just had to kiss him.

He pulled her close and put his arms around her. She felt safe and warm.

They broke off after what seemed like minutes. They were both grinning like mad.

"How long are you going to have to work there to make enough?" Ginny asked.

"Forever," Oliver replied, brushing a streak oh hair from Ginny's face.

"Is there really nowhere else?"

"Not for now. Who knows what I'm going to do when I do restart university?"

"You'll find something. You'll be a skilled waiter by that time. I'm sure some fancy restaurant will hire you," Ginny said, running her hand down Oliver's arm.

"How reassuring."

"That's what I'm here for."

Oliver smiled, which Ginny noticed he did quite often when they were together, which made a sudden wave of happiness and warmth wash over her.

"It's getting late, and I've got a train to catch. So what do you say I walk you home?" Oliver said, getting up and extending his hand to help Ginny up.

"You don't have to walk me home if you'll have to rush to the station. I'll just get a bus or something."

"Nonsense."

Ginny took his hand and stood up. Oliver put his hand in hers, and they were on their way.

They walked in silence for a few moments. During this time Ginny thought how to tell Oliver about the letter. 'He'll want to help" she said to herself. 'He'll help me organize and sort it all out'. Besides, she was persistent on keeping their relationship an honest one.

"I've got something to tell you as well," she said, while they were passing by St Paul's.

"Oh?"

"Yes. I found another letter. From my aunt."

Oliver stopped walking and looked at Ginny.

"Where?" he said, a confused look on his face.

"I was moving things in my room and one of my bracelets broke and the beads just flew everywhere. But a lot of them just fell on the floor and sort of... disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"I'm getting there, hold on. Anyway, I was kinda scared, so I ducked and noticed a board move when I touched it. So I lifted it, and found a... secret compartment. And inside it I found this one letter, in which my aunt asks me to give letters to her friends, the one she didn't get to say goodbye to, as a... proper goodbye, or something."

Ginny finished her story. Oliver just looked at her for a moment. They'd stopped walking.

"How did your aunt know you were going to find it? I mean, it could've been anyone," he said.

He caught on fast, thought Ginny. She knew Oliver would be able to help her.  
>"I don't know how she knew, I'm a bit intimidated by that as well, but she just did. She did that when she was alive. She'd just know some things. She'd joke about it, say it was a 'sixth sense'."<p>

Oliver nodded. He still seemed calm.

"So, your aunt wrote a letter, in which she's asking you to send her letters to her friends, because she didn't get a chance to say goodbye to them?" Oliver said, connecting it all out loud.

"Almost correct, except she wants me to deliver the letters in person."

"Right. 'Cos that's the normal thing to do."

"I know it doesn't sound normal, but I... I have to do it. She needs me to do it."

Oliver slowly stepped closer to Ginny.  
>"I suppose the normal thing would be for me to say 'Your aunt is dead, she doesn't need you to do this'," he said; Ginny was about to say something, but he put his finger on his mouth, to show her to listen to him for a little while longer, "But I've read those letters. And I know how much you meant to her, and how much she meant to you. So, whatever you decide is necessary for you do to, I will help you do it."<br>Ginny wanted to tell him how much she loved him, how thankful she was to have met him.

"Thank you, Oliver. I really needed to hear it from someone," she said, holding her hand on his chest.  
>"You'll always hear it from me," he said, gently holding her cheek with his hand.<br>Ginny put her hand over his.  
>"Thank you so much," she said, before standing on tiptoe and kissing him again. He put his other arm around her and ducked a bit to help her. Ginny ran her hand through Oliver's hair. She'd never noticed how amazing it felt.<p>

A few wolf - whistles broke them apart. Ginny blushed, and hid herself in Oliver's jacket. They walked away quickly, and started to laugh a few moments later.

They walked to Richard's house holding hands. They parted, kissing one more time.

"I'll come visit soon," Ginny said, still holding on to Oliver's jacket.  
>Oliver smiled, and kissed Ginny's hand. He started walking away backwards and waved one more time, before turning away and leaving.<br>Ginny went inside. Richard was asleep.

She sat on the couch and thought about what a crazy day it had been. She went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and change. She walked into her room, looked once more at the board, fell on the bed and immediately fell asleep.


	11. Sorting

**I really am so so sorry for being this inconsistent! I just had a lot of things to sort out, and kept forgetting about posting these. I really do believe I'll be more consistent from now on. Thank you for reading, and I hope you're still reading, and thank you for being patient and not giving up yet. And please, comment and tell me what you think! Thanks a lot!**

"I bet you're all wondering why I've gathered you here today..." Keith said, turning in Ginny's chair and petting a pillow.

Oliver sustained an eye roll. Ellis giggled. Ginny brought the pile of paintings into the living room.

"Right. Well then, remind me again what we're supposed to do?" Keith said, looking at the paintings.

Ginny sat down on the sofa next Oliver.

"We have to sort them out. There are 7 envelopes, each one has a different name, and we need to sort the paintings into the envelopes," Ginny said, picking up the first envelope. '_Mari' _was written on it. There had all together been 7 envelopes - the names written on them were Mari, Paul, Charlie, Knud, Christoph, Kostas, and Laura. Ginny felt nervous, because she had no idea who 'Christoph', 'Kostas' and 'Laura' even were.

"How will we know we've sorted them out right?" Ellis asked.

"Well... I suppose I'll recognize them. And..." Ginny said.

"Oh. Ok. Let's get started then, yeah?" Ellis said, taking a few paintings and spreading them on the coffee table, "Hm, what have we got here? There's a... a castle?" she said, turning it, so everyone could see.

Oliver nodded. "It looks like the castle in Edinburgh. That one's on a hill, isn't it?" he said.

"It does look like it," Keith said, and then took a few paintings himself.

Ginny was a little surprised. It must have been the first time Keith had agreed with Oliver without a stupid comment.

"Guess that's Mari's then, isn't it?" she said, and put the first painting on the envelope with _'Mari'. _

"Ok, another Mari," Keith said. There was no doubt about this one - it was an actual portrait of Mari. It was lovely. Aunt Peg always had a gift for drawing people's faces.

The next few moments passed in silence. Oliver found one for Charlie. It was a portrait of him, similar to Mari's. Ellis found one that Ginny identified as Knud's. It was a house - boat.

"A house - boat? This guy has a house... that's an actual boat?" Keith said, with a tone of disbelief and amazement in his voice, "That is bloody brilliant!"

"Don't even think about it." Ellis said, handing a painting of Montmartre to Ginny," The Cafe man, in Paris, yeah?"

Ginny nodded, suppressing a laugh at Ellis' answer. Ellis noticed it and smiled.

Keith stuck his tongue out at Ellis, but also smiled. He reached for the envelopes. He went through them, and got a puzzled expression.

"Gin? Who are these three?" he said, waving 'Christoph', 'Kostas' and 'Laura'.

"I have no idea," Ginny said, and put a portrait of Paul on Montmartre.

"How do you plan to give them these, then?" he said, waving the envelopes again.

"It's all in the letters," Ginny said, this time putting a painting of what she recognized as Amsterdam on the 'Charlie' pile.

"What letters?" Keith asked, confused.

"The letters inside the envelopes," Ginny said, "My aunt knew I don't know who these people are, so she wrote down their addresses, and put them in the envelopes."

Keith looked back at the envelopes and opened one. Inside, there was a letter, and a post -it. It said 'Christoph Fink, Herrengasse 8, 01. Innere Stadt, Vienna'.

"Right. But you don't know anything about him..." Keith continued.

"It's in the letter." Ginny said, adding Knud's portrait to the 'Knud' pile.

"You've read them?"

"Well, my Aunt said I could, and I was hoping to find out more about them. To know who they are, you know?"

"What did you find out?" Oliver asked, holding a painting of foxes for Ginny to see, as if to say 'where the hell does this go?'.

"Mari," Ginny and Keith said simultaneously. Ellis and Oliver looked at them in surprise.

"Mari had pet foxes," Keith said. Ginny looked at him, "What? They deserve to know."

"Anyway, back to the 'new people'," Ginny said. Oliver nodded, and put the foxes on the 'Mari' pile, " Christoph lives in Vienna. My aunt wrote something about him on the other side of the post-it," Keith turned it around, "As you can see, he's tall, slim, about 45, has a 20something year old son, works in a museum. He also has short black hair, and moustache, which he never shaves. So, that might help a bit."

"Does it say which museum? In case he's not home," Oliver asked.

"Albertina," Keith said, reading out the name written on the back of the post-it. "It also says 'He'll tell you a bit more' ".  
>"Yeah, I'm hoping he does," Ginny said, putting a painting of a boat with a familiar window on the 'Charlie' pile.<p>

"Who are the other two?" Ellis asked.

Keith opened the other two envelopes.

"Well, Kostas Alexopoulos is Greek. He lives in Athens. He's a painter, but primarily ears money by selling fish at the market. He' short, has dark hair, a bit long; he's about 30, has a wife and two daughters, or at least he had when they last saw each other. Who knows how many he has now," Ginny said, sorting a painting of Vienna on a new part of the table, making it the 'Christoph' pile.

"And he lives in..,I shan't even try to pronounce this," Keith said, handing the post-it to Ginny.

"He lives in Aristogitonos 15, Athens. It's a street near the city market. I checked it last night," Ginny said, handing the post-it back to Keith.

"Ok. So...who's the last person?" Ellis asked.

"A woman named Laura Balducci, an Italian painter. She's tall, ginger, ha, like me," Keith read the third post-it, "lives in Rome, in Via del Mancino, no idea where that is."

"It's a street near Via del Corso, which is probably the most famous street in Rome," Ginny said, putting a painting of the Pantheon on the newly made 'Laura' pile, "She has a studio in her apartment. Via del Mancino 5."

"I wonder what the chances of finding all three of them are," Keith said, putting the envelopes back on the table, and sticking the post-its on them, "Maybe we should have a bet."

"I'm sure we'll manage. I mean, we do know their last names, and addresses," Ellis said optimistically.

"True, true. Well, let's hope for the best, shall we?" Keith said, picking up some more paintings.

"Are you guys...coming with me?" Ginny asked.

"Of course we are! We can't let you off on your own!" Ellis said.

"I agree. Besides, you know it's not an adventure if I'm not there," Keith said.

Ginny smiled. "Thanks, guys."

"Of course, I suppose Oliver is coming as well," Keith said.

Oliver looked up from the paintings he'd been sorting out. Ginny panicked for a moment. She knew how bad it was last time between Oliver and Keith. And she was sure Oliver wouldn't want to go through anything similar again.

"Of course I am," Oliver said calmly," Why do you think I'm helping out? For money?"

"I don' know. Most likely?"

The atmosphere in the room changed drastically. Even though the both of them remained seated, Ginny could feel the tension growing with each second. Ellis was looking at Keith.

"Ok, I think we should slow down a little," she said," I mean it, lads. Slow down."

Keith smiled, but it was a small, cold smile. Oliver remained serious, but he was still tense.

"Ellis is right. Whatever it is that's the problem, you need to sort it out now," Ginny said, looking at Oliver.

Oliver harrumphed. "I suppose there are a few...unsolved arguments between the two of us."

"I'll say," Keith said.

"Keith," Ellis warned him.

"I know why you disliked me last time, and I understand, but it's different now."

"I'm sure it is."

"Keith, please," Ellis said, "Sort it out now. This is a serious and long process we'll have to go through if we want to find all these people and help Ginny out. I will not have a fight in the middle of the journey because the two of you are too childish to clear it out now."

To say Ginny was a little impressed with Ellis' attitude would be the understatement of the century. Keith seemed to feel the same way, as well as Oliver.

"Fine. I guess I'm just a little skeptical, 'cos of the last time and all," Keith said.

"So am I," Oliver said.

"Right. I...apologise for...what I did to you last time. All of it."

He stood up, and extended his hand. Oliver looked at it.

"Oliver," Ginny said, quietly.

Oliver stood up as well, but didn't take Keith's hand immediately.

"I'm not holding it against you. I never have. I know I came of as a wanker last time, so...it's fine," Oliver said, and took his hand.

They stood like that for a few moments, both serious. Then Keith smiled. It wasn't his usual, broad smile, but it wasn't 'I'll kill you, you bloody arsehole' one, either. Oliver nodded, and they both sat down again.

"Wow. I mean, good! Let's finish this," Ellis said, and they all went back to sorting.

After they'd sorted it all out, they did a count. All together, there had been 35 paintings, 5 for each person. Mari had 2 portraits, a painting of the Edinburgh castle, her foxes, and one of Edinburgh itself. Paul had one of Montmartre, Paris, his cafe, and 2 portraits. Knud had a portrait, one of his boat, one with Viking motives, one of the polar light, and Copenhagen in the winter. Charlie had 2 portraits, his boat, Amsterdam, and his bookstore. Christoph Finks had 2 portraits, Vienna, 2 of himself and his son, and one with the same boy, but with a very pretty woman, who must have been the boy's mother. Kostas Alexopoulos had a portrait, Athens, the Greek coastline, Greek food, and one of himself and his family. And Laura Balducci had a portrait, the Trevi fountain, the Pantheon, Michelangelo's David (Oliver was the one who realized that. "I had a friend with the surname Balducci, which he said was a Tuscan name, and 'David' is in Florence, so that must be hers". Ginny felt very proud.), and the Colosseum.

They placed the paintings in the large envelopes, as well as the letters. Neither of them read the letters, other than Ginny.

"I think we've violated quite enough of your aunt's privacy," Oliver said, and Ellis nodded.

They sat there for a little while longer, developing the plan.

They'd decided to first give the letter to Mari, seeing how she was the closest one. After her, they were to return to London and go to Paris, to Paul. From there, they'd go to Amsterdam, and Charlie. Next, they'd go further north, to Copenhagen and Knud; then they'd try and find Christoph in Vienna. After Vienna, they decided to go to Athens, and then to Rome, because they found cheaper tickets from Vienna to Athens, than from Vienna to Rome.

"It's really not a problem for me to pay for the tickets," Ginny said.

"Ginny, we're not letting you pay for our transport," Ellis said, and Keith and Oliver agreed.

Ginny tried to convince them, but they were persistent.

She finally agreed, and they finished the planning. From Athens, they'd go to Rome, and then back to London. If they'd calculated it correctly, it would take them 18 days. They counted some extra days for the people Ginny didn't know, just to be sure.

"Well, that's that, I suppose," Keith said, getting up and stretching, " When do we start?"

"We might as well start tomorrow, "Oliver said, "Trains for Edinburgh leave daily, so there's really no problem. Besides, we'll only need a few hours to get there, and we'll spend some time there as well, and we could comfortably return in the evening."

"Sounds good to me," Ginny said," What d'you guys think?"

Ellis nodded and smiled. Keith nodded as well.

"How about we meet at St Pancras at 9 am?" Oliver said, looking at his phone, "The train for Edinburgh leaves at 10, and we could probably catch the one at 9 pm back. If that's alright with you."

"Sound good," Ellis said, getting into her jacket," We'll see you tomorrow!"

Keith nodded, getting dressed as well.

They went to the door, waved, and went out.

Ginny and Oliver sat back on the sofa, and Oliver put his hand around Ginny's shoulder.

"Well..." Ginny said, sighing," That went well."

Oliver nodded.

"It's getting late. Are there any trains left?"

Oliver nodded. "There's one in about 40 minutes."

"Good. I'd hate for you to hitchhike all the way back to Guildford."

"Did you just make a Guide reference?"

"I sure did."

Oliver smiled. He leaned in and kissed Ginny.

"Should I pick you up in the morning?" Oliver asked.

"Sure."

"I'll come by around 8," he said, getting up and getting dressed.

"Ok. I'll see you in the morning, then."

They kissed at the door one more time, and then Oliver turned around and left.

Ginny went back to the living room and looked at the envelopes.

This must be what aunt Peg felt like when she was writing the envelopes for me, thought Ginny.

She heard a car pull in front of the house. It must be Richard returning with a cab, thought Ginny. Which was a bit unusual.

She also heard him talking to someone. Then she heard a familiar giggle.

No way, thought Ginny. She rushed to the door and opened it.

There, on the entrance, stood Miriam.

You couldn't tell which one of them screamed sooner.  
>"I can't believe you're here!"<p>

"I can't believe I'm here!"

"Oh my Lord!"

"Oh _my _Lord!"

"For how long?!"

"I don't know!"

"Please say forever!"

"Forever!"

"Are you lying?!"

"Of course I am!"

"But for the summer?!"  
>"Yesss!"<p>

"Oh my Loord!"

"I know!"

Richard stood there and laughed. "Alright, you two, before someone thinks you've gone mad, get inside!"

"How did you get here?" Ginny asked, still giddy.

"I swam. You know me, Michelle Phelps or whatever," Miriam said, taking her jacket off.

"Oh, shut up. Seriously, though?!"

"Oh, wow! Well, I called your uncle, and we sort of managed to plan it without you finding out, and here I am!"

They both laughed and started hugging all over again.

"I'll leave you girls alone. I'm going to watch some telly," Richard said.

"Wait, I've got something to tell you," Ginny said, remembering her future plans.

"I'll just take this to my room?" Miriam said, pointing to her suitcase.

"Ah, yes, there's an inflatable mattress in the basement. Can you handle that, Ginny?" Richard asked.

"Yeah, sure," Ginny said and pointed Miriam to aunt Peg's room. "Listen, remember how I told you I found all those paintings and letters for aunt Peg's friends?" Ginny asked. Richard nodded.

"Well, Oliver, Ellis, Keith and me agreed to start delivering them tomorrow. We're going to Edinburgh in the morning."

"Alright. What about Miriam?"

"She'll come along."

"Are you sure the others will be ok with this?"

"I really hope so, 'cause I can't leave it all now, and I can't leave Mir either, and she'll love it. She's wanted to go on one of these 'adventures', as she calls them, since I first told her about it."

"That's good then. Ok, but you promise you'll tell me the entire plan when you come back. Please?"

"Of course. We'll be back by tomorrow evening, and then I'll explain everything."

"Good. Thank you. Go spend time with your friend."

Ginny smiled, and went towards her room.

Miriam was leaning on the window, looking out at the London skyline.

"It's really beautiful here," she said, still looking through the window.

"It really is," Ginny said, leaning next to her.

The night was a bit chilly, and the wind felt lovely against her cheeks.

They turned towards each other and started hugging and laughing again.

"I honestly still can't believe you're here!"

"I know! God, it will take me ages to get used to it!"

"Are you tired?"

"A bit, yeah."

"Do you think you'll be tired in the morning?"

Miriam stopped and looked at Ginny. A smile appeared on her face.

"Where are we going?"

Ginny smiled and told her the whole story, starting with the beads disappearing in the floor, right up to the meeting that was held before she got here.

"Oh. My. God. Are you kidding? There are more envelopes- Oh, wow, someone up there must really love me- Are you SERIOUS?" Miriam kept walking around the room, laughing and jumping, " Can I please come along, pretty please? I'll hire a donkey, I'll sell my kidney, I'll donate my hair- 'kay, I'll grow it first, then I'll donate it, please!"

"I don't know..."

"PLEASE!"

"Jeez, of course you're going with us, Mir!"

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthan kyou!"

They hugged it out again, then Miriam went to shower, and Ginny went to inflate the bed.

30 minutes later they were on Ginny's bed, talking about hundred's of things at once, making plans, deciding, just like they had been since they were young girls.

It felt as good as ever.

Miriam fell asleep, and Ginny stayed awake for a little while longer, reading a book. Before she turned off the light and went to bed, she looked at Miriam again.

Her hair was still the same, short, just above her shoulders, and blond, and she was still just a bit shorter than Ginny, and a bit slimmer.

It was nice to have her there.


	12. Mari

At 6 am, Ginny was awoken by the smell of pancakes.

She went downstairs and found Miriam in the kitchen, cooking.

"Oh, good. You're up! I was wondering when to start making these," she said, pointing to the pancakes," but I figured you could always reheat them."

"Thanks. Mir, are you sure you've slept enough? I mean, talk about a time difference," Ginny said, taking a bit of the pancake Miriam had served fir her.

"Yeah, sure, of course!"

"Are you sure-"

"I'll sleep when I'm dead."

"Fine."

Richard came into the kitchen after a few minutes.

"You Americans really like pancakes, don't you?" he said, preparing himself a cup of tea.

"We sure do. Traditional American cuisine. Mighty fine as well," Miriam said, and put a plate with pancakes in front of Richard.

"I wholeheartedly agree," Richard said with a smile.

They ate in silence for a while.

"I have to go to work a bit early. Have a nice trip, and say hi to Mari for me, would you?" he said, tying his tie.

Ginny nodded. "We'll see you in the evening."

Miriam waved. Richard nodded, grabbed his keys, and went out the door.

Ginny turned towards Miriam, and they began laughing again.

"So, was Mari like a guru to your aunt?" Miriam said, taking a bite of her pancake.

"Something like it, I suppose."

"D'you think she'll like me?"

"Yeah. But she likes everyone, so."

"Ha. Ha. Ha."

"I'm joking!"

Miriam was quiet for a moment.

"Are you sure your friends won't mind me coming along?"

"Of course not. One thing's for sure, Ellis will definitely love you."

"That's good to know."

They finished breakfast and watched some TV.

Around 7:30 they went to get ready. At 8, there was a knock on the door.

"Ohgodohgodohgodohgod..."

"Mir, relax."

"Who is it?"

"It's Oliver."

"Ohgodohgodohgodohgod..."

"Mir!"

"Maybe I should just stay here?"

"Not a chance."

Ginny opened the door. Oliver was standing there, finishing a cigarette.

The smiled, leaned in and kissed her. She let him into the house.

Miriam stood there and waved.

"Hello."

"Oh... Good morning," Oliver said, extending his hand, "You must be Miriam."

Miriam looked at him, then at Ginny.

"I am, yeah. How did you know?"

"Ginny's told me about you."

"Has she, now? Well, ain't that lovely..."

Ginny and Miriam got their jackets, and they went out.

They spent the walk there easily conversing over various things. Oliver was as polite as ever, taking interest in what Miriam was saying, which made the whole thing much easier. The tougher nut would be Keith, thought Ginny.

They got to the station around 8:30. They sat in a cafe and drank coffee, and Oliver had tea.

Keith and Ellis arrived a few minutes before 9.

"Keith, Ellis, this is my friend Miriam. She's coming along, if that's ok wit you," Ginny said.

Naturally, Ellis was ok with it.

"Of course. We can use some more girl power! I'm Ellis, by the way!"

"Mir, hi. Lovely to meet you!"

"Thanks! You as well!"

Keith extended his hand as well, and smiled, "Keith Dobson, perhaps you've heard of me."

"Of course I have," Miriam said, shaking his hand.

"Pleasure to have you with us on our fine journey," he said. He put his hand around Ellis.

"Ok, what now?" he said, looking around.

"We should buy the tickets," Oliver said, looking towards the ticket booth.

"Ok. Can you guys do that, I have to go to the toilet?" Miriam said, handing Ginny her money.

Ginny was going to protest about the money, but Miriam beat her to it.

"Absolutely out of the question," she said, and hurried toward the toilets.

"Right. We'll buy the tickets, you guys wait here," Ginny said, and went to the booths with Oliver.

"Are you okay with Miriam coming along?" she asked, somewhat dreading the answer.

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" Oliver looked at her, surprised.

"I don't know. I mean, you all don't even know her, and I just brought her along."

"Well, she's your friend. And she seems really nice, so I don't see the problem. Besides, she probably knows all about us, so we won't have to have long conversations about our lives," he said, smiling.

"Yeah, right," Ginny said, stood on tiptoe, and kissed his neck, "Let's just get started."

"I agree."

They bought the tickets. All five of them then went to buy some water, snacks, food and coffee (Keith), and boarded their train.

"We'll be there in about 4 hours," Oliver said. They all sat down.

At first, it seemed a bit tense, but then everyone relaxed and started talking.

Ellis and Miriam were talking about how excited they were about this, and Keith would occasionally drop in a remark, and then continued reading his manga.

"New edition," he said, noticing Ginny was looking at him.

Oliver was also reading book, and his hand was around Ginny's shoulders. She twined their fingers, sometimes joining Miriam and Ellis in their conversation.

After some time they all did different things. Miriam was writing in her journal, and very often she'd look out the window. Ellis was napping on Keith's shoulder.

Four hours later, they found themselves in Edinburgh.

"Right. Ok, listen up," Ginny said, opening the map of Edinburgh, "I suggest we go to Mari's house now, and later do something until we have to go back."

"Sounds good," Keith said, and they all agreed.

Despite the map, it was still difficult for Ginny and Keith to remember the way to the house. They wondered around for a while, and finally managed to find Mari's house.

They went up to the door, and knocked. Nobody answered for about a minute, then they heard footsteps from inside the house, and, a moment later, Mari was standing in front of them.

"Well what a surprise! Ginny, m' dear," Mari said, giving Ginny a kiss, "And your lovely crew," she added, kissing everyone. She pinched Keith and Oliver's cheeks, and then turned to Miriam. "Dearie, I don't believe I've met you! What's your name, love?"

"Miriam. It's a pleasure to meet you!" Miriam said.

"The pleasure is entirely mine, love. It's nice to meet another one of Ginny's friends. Come on in come on in! Kettle's just boiled."

They went inside. They walls were still as colorful as before. Mari led them into what appeared to be the living room. They sat on the two sofas that were there. Ginny, Ellis and Miriam went to the kitchen with Mari to help out with the tea.

"Now, tell me. What brings you here again?" Mari said, after they'd returned to the living room with the tea and chocolates.

Everyone was quiet for a moment. Then Ginny spoke.

"I have something for you. Aunt Peg has left something for you."

Mari didn't seem shocked. There was a little hint of surprise. She raised one eyebrow. "Oh? You didn't have to some all the way here to give it to me, love. I'm sure you could've sent it to me."

"I have to give it to you in person. She wanted it," Ginny said, reaching into her bag.

She found the envelope and handed it to Mari.

Mari took it gently, and looked at it for a moment. Her forehead wrinkled. She thought about something.

"I've been losing friends and loved ones for as long as I can remember," she said, "So I knew how to deal with losing a friend like Peg. But it was still hard. 'Cos she was such a glowing person, really. She had that something about her, something addictive." She paused for a moment. "She drew people in."

"She did," Ginny said quietly. She felt Oliver's hand gently brush her shoulder.

"Such a beautiful, beautiful girl," Mari said and smiled.

Ginny felt Miriam's hand on hers for a moment.

"I guess I better open it, right?" Mari said, and opened it.

She took out the paintings and the letter. She carefully viewed each one.

"Will you look at that? That is beautiful. Lovely, lovely, lovely."

Mari looked at the paintings for a while. Keith, Ellis, Oliver and Miriam gave Ginny and Mari some privacy.

"Oh, look, a letter. Let's see. Have you read it, love?" Mari asked Ginny.

"No. No, I haven't." Ginny said. She'd only read bits of the ones for Christoph, Kostas and Laura, because she knew nothing about them, and hoped the letter might explain something. Aunt Peg had left her the post-its, but curiosity triumphed for a moment. Ginny wanted to know who the people aunt Peg never told her about were.

"I'm sure Peg wouldn't have minded. You can read it with me, if you'd like."

"I don't know...I mean..." Ginny began.

"It's alright, dearie. I won't force you."

"I don't think I should. It's your letter, after all."

Mari smiled. "Sure thing, love."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Mari read her letter, and Ginny quietly sipped her tea.

Then Mari sighed, wiping a tear from her eye. "She always said such wonderful things about me, I hardly think I deserved even half of them. But, that's Peg for you."

Ginny smiled. Mari had some more tea.

Ginny finished her tea. "I'm sorry if we've interrupted anything. I forgot to ask."

Mari smiled. "Nothing special, love. I was just up on the attic, painting away. I do that sometimes, when the weather is nice. I have a lovely view of the city."

"That's nice. How is... Chloe?" Ginny said, remembering Mari's protégé.

"Oh, Chloe's grand! She's preparing her first exhibition in a gallery a few streets away. Opens up in a few days."

"I'm sorry we won't be here to see it."

"It is a pity, yes. You'd have liked her paintings."

"Maybe next time?"

"Sure thing, dearie." Mari said, and then paused for a moment. "Where are you off to next?"

Ginny looked at her, surprised. "What?"

Mari smiled. "You haven't read the letter. It's a good-bye letter. And I'm fairly certain I wasn't her only close friend." Mari said.

"Read the letter, love. You'll see it too. I dare say it's quite obvious."

Ginny nodded and smiled. She thought for a moment.

"Paris."

"Sorry, love?"

"We're off to Paris."

Mari smiled, and then went outside to talk a bit with 'the crew'.

Ginny thought for another moment, and then picked up the letter.

She read it in two minutes. It was written in aunt Peg's neat handwriting. She was quite a neat person, which you wouldn't guess from her lifestyle.

It wasn't very long, one full page. It was very Peg-like. She said lovely things about Mari. Ginny read it, and realized it was, in fact, a good-bye letter. This journey was the last thing she was ever going to do for her aunt. Because, as much as aunt Peg loved a cliché, she always knew when to stop it. And sending Ginny on a never-ending journey with the help of blue envelopes was too much. Ginny knew these envelopes were not for her. They were for aunt Peg and her friends. And Ginny was going to do this last 'adventure' for aunt Peg.

She folded the letter and left it on the table in the living room.

She went outside. Mari, Ellis and Keith were sitting in the garden, talking about something. Oliver and Miriam were near the door, talking as well. Oliver managed to restrain himself from smoking.

They noticed her coming out.

"It was lovely having you all here, " Mari said, "I'd offer you to stay for lunch, but, from what I gather, you're going to do a bit of sight-seeing. And you should. Edinburgh is beautiful."

They all said goodbye.

"Be sure to visit sometimes." Mari said, kissing Ginny's cheek.

"I will. We will." Ginny said, smiling.

They waved one more to Mari, and made their way down the street, towards the city.

"I, for one, am starving. Let's eat!" Keith said, rushing to a restaurant.

They ate, then spent the next few hours walking around Edinburgh. It really was beautiful. They joked, talked, laughed. Miriam fit in nicely as well, which was a relief to Ginny.

When it was almost 8 o'clock, they made their way toward the train station. They boarded the train. Ellis, Keith and Miriam fell asleep.

"Thanks for coming along." Ginny said to Oliver.

"My pleasure. I've only been to Edinburgh one before." Oliver said, putting his arm around Ginny.

"Hey, me too. It's a small world." She said with a smile.

Oliver laughed. They spent the rest of the journey back to London talking, occasionally falling asleep.

When they finally returned, it was well after midnight. Ellis and Keith took a cab home.

"Call us tomorrow, so we can plan!" Ellis said, before getting into the cab.

"Nighty-night, lads." Keith said, and got in.

Ginny looked at Oliver. "Do you want to spend the night in our house? It's a bit late to go to Guildford."

"Will you have room for me?" Oliver asked.

"I'm sure we have."

"I can sleep on the couch." Oliver said.

"Then it's settled." Ginny smiled.

The three of them took a cab. Miriam fell asleep again.

When they got home, she crawled in and waved goodnight.

"She must be knackered. The time difference is hell." Oliver said.

"Yeah. She hardly slept last night, so she must be really tired."

Oliver looked at the couch.

"Will it be alright?" Ginny asked.

"Of course." Oliver smiled.

"I'll get you some sheets."

"Thank you."

Ginny went to get the sheets, and Oliver went to the bathroom. She also got him a t-shirt to sleep in, since it was warm inside.

She was just about to knock on the door of the bathroom, when Oliver opened it, standing only in his underwear. Ginny blushed and gave him the t-shirt. He took it and mumbled 'thank you'. There was a faint blush on his cheeks as well.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then?" Ginny asked, sitting on the sofa next to Oliver.

"I think so. Maybe I'll make it to the station in time for the early train."

"Have you got work tomorrow?"

"No, it's Saturday. I don' work on weekends."

"Do you want to stay here? Since we'll have to do some planning for the rest of the trip," Ginny said, then blushed again, "I mean, you don' have to. If you want to."

"I'd like that." Oliver said.

He leaned towards Ginny and kissed her. She wrapped her arm around his neck and shoulders, feeling the strong muscles there. He gently put his arm around her waist. They kissed for a few moments, and then broke apart, because they'd seem to have forgotten to breathe.

"Goodnight." Ginny said, getting up.

"You're just leaving me here?" Oliver said, a tone of flirt in his voice.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Sweet dreams." Ginny said, and kissed Oliver's cheek.

He smiled.

_Dear Mari,_

_Well, I'm sure you know by now. I'm dying. I feel quite calm about it, to tell you the truth. I've accepted it, and now I'm...I'm waiting. I'm waiting to die. I have to tell you, it's a lot less scary than it sounds. I suppose the trick is to know when you are really close. Because, dear Mari, I am. It won't be long.  
>Oh lord, this sounds so sad, doesn't it? Urgh, I didn't want to make this one about me. It's for you. Because I'm far too weak to ever visit you again. Which makes me sad. Hence why the letter is sad as well.<br>But I might as well use these last few lines of paper to say good-bye. I've never been good at that. You should see what I've got for Ginny, my niece. You know her already. I'm sure she's already done all I've asked of her. You'll like her. She is, quite simply, amazing._

_Wow, I am running out of space. But you know me, Mari. Never been big on good-byes. I feel like I've already said this. Oh, I'm too tired and too sick to check. Sorry.  
>Anyway, thank you. For your guidance, your patience, your support, your friendship, and your respect, which I hope and pray I've earned; and for those ridiculously good pies you used to bake for me. Bake one for Ginny one day, will you? When she asks you to.<br>This is it, Mari..  
>Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you so so much. I couldn't have done it without you. And I mean it. Thank you. Thank you.<br>All my loving,  
>Peg.<br>_


	13. Paul

**Oh gosh, I feel so awful for posting this almost six months after the last one! I genuinely don't know what to say. I've just had so much on my plate these past few months. I really am sorry, and I hope this (extra long) chapter help just a little bit. There will be a new chapter very soon, probably by the ned of this week! I promise I'll update more frequently. And thank you for all your favourites and story alerts, it means a lot! Enjoy, and thank you again!**

A loud crash awoke Ginny from her calm dream. She had been dreaming about a train journey through France, with Oliver. They ate frog legs and snails. Ginny involuntarily shivered.

She got out of bed and nearly tripped over an inflatable matress. It took her a moment to remember Mir was there.

She glanced at the clock on the wall. 6:04 a.m. The mistake is justified, thought Ginny.

She walked toward the window and looked outside, hoping to see the source of the crash. It didn't take long.

A big, red, rather expensive looking car had crashed into a post box. A group of people, along with two policemen, had already gathered, and there was a line of quite angry drivers who were obviously trying to get to work, but several police vehicles and a group of 6 old women with dogs were blocking any possible way through.

Ginny giggled and stretched her arms. She didn't feel like sleeping, despite having only slept for a little under 5 hours. They got home around midnight.

Ginny got dressed and brushed her teeth. She decided to start planning their trip to Paris. Somehow she was hoping they might even leave today. She reached for her phone and a notebook that she had selected for the planning. She wanted to be prepared for just about anything.

Ginny got to the living room and was greeted with the sound of soft snoring. Her heart flluttered. She got closer to the couch and leaned in.

Oliver was sleeping on his back, one arm under his pillow. The sheet Ginny had given him was only covering one half of his body, so a long, muscular leg was exposed, as well as a side of his chest. To top it off, his shirt was also pulled up, revealing half of his Apollo's belt. It was prominent, but Oliver wasn't really a macho guy. He was fit, however.

Ginny blushed a bit, but then leaned in and pressed a kiss against his jaw.

Oliver stirred, but didn't wake. Ginny noticed, as she was standing up, that there was a small smile on his face.

As she turned to walk to the kitchen, a hand gently grazed her wrist.

"You're leaving. Yet again," a voice thick with sleep rasped, "I'll have to put my foot down."

Ginny giggled. "I didn't mean to wake you, I'm sorry."

Oliver slowly opened his eyes. "It's fine. Better that you did, actually. I have a few important calls to make."

"At six in the morinng?" Ginny asked.

"Not this very minute. I sound like I swallowed a chainsaw," he laughed, "In about an hour. I have to try and get the next three weeks off. The sooner I call, the better."

"Do you think your boss will let you go?" Ginny wondered, and sat at the edge of the couch.

"I hope so. I'll just tell him a relative is getting married, or something like that."

"Sneaky," Ginny joked.

"I know. No one will believe me," Oliver laughed.

"Well, you had me fooled," Ginny put on a mock face.

Oliver smiled, sat up, and pulled Ginny on the couch. She sat with her back against his chest, and they sat like that for a few moment, Oliver leaning against a large pile of pillows. Ginny absentmindedly stroked his palm, and planted a kiss on it. She could feel Oliver's eyelashes flutter against her cheek when he leaned in to kiss her neck. She smiled, almost smugly.

"I felt that," Oliver said, soflty kissing her earlobe.

"Felt what?"

"Don't act smug with me."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Oliver silently laughed again. GInny felt his warm breath on her neck. It was strangely relaxing.

"So, what are your plans for today?" Oliver asked after a few minutes.

Ginny's forehead wrinkled in thought.

"I've actually been thinking about Paris. I think the best way to go would be by train. And I think we might even catch one later this afternoon, around 3 p.m. What d' you think?"

Oliver thought for a moment.

"Sounds possible. Maybe we ought to book tickets."

"Well, " Ginny said with a smirk, "I was just about to do that, but then you glued me to this sofa."

Oliver kissed her cheek and let her go.

Ginny got up and went to get her laptop from where it had been charging on their table.

In the mean time, Oliver stumbled to the bathroom, and emerged fully cloathed and looking much more awake. He went to the kitchen and prepared two cups of coffee. He brought one to Ginny, and took out his phone. Gesturing to it, he stepped outside. Ginny saw him through the window. The window was opened, so she overheard a bit of the conversation.

"I'm awfully sorry to report to you this late, sir." Pause. "Yes. Inevitable, I'm afraid." Pause. "Yes." Pause. "Thank you, sir." Pause "I understand, sir." Pause. "Thank you. Good bye."

Oliver stepped inside a moment later.

"He said it's alright." Oliver said.

"Yeah, I heard."

Oliver looked at Ginny, confused.

"Through the window."

He nodded.

"So," he said, stepping closer, " Any result?"

"Yes, actually," Ginny said, nodding," There's a train at 15:31, leaving St Pancras, and we're in Paris around 6 p.m." Ginny looked up at Oliver. "Do you think we could make it?"

Oliver thought for a moment.

"Well, it's only 7 a.m.," he said, "So if you let them know now, we might make it."

"I'll call them now, then."

Oliver leaned on the chair, closer to Ginny's face, "You do that," he said, smirking.

Ginny smirked as well, pecked him on the lips, and wriggled free. She got out her phone and called Keith.

After about 5 rings, a deep voice answered.

"Yes?"

"Keith?"

"Who wants to know?" the voice rasped.

"It's me? Ginny?"

"Right."

"Listen, sorry to call so early, but I wanted to ask about Paris..."

Ginny heard a voice on the other end.

_"Is that Ginny? Let me talk to her... _Hello? Gin?"

"Hello, Ellis."

"Hi! Sorry about that, Keith's always really lost in the morning. What did you need?"

"Uh, I just wanted to ask if you'd be up for going to Paris today."

"I think we could, yeah. When?"

"We were thinking around 3:30 p.m."

There were quiet voices on the other line. Then Ellis was back.

"Hello? Yeah, Keith says it's fine. When do we meet up?"

"Around... 3 p.m., near the statue?"

"Alright."

"And, Ellis?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't forget to bring clean clothes and stuff you need, we'll be back in three weeks."

"Oh, thanks for reminding me! Ok. Anything else we should bring?"

"I don't think so. I've got the letters, so..."

"Ok. Great! Ugh, I can't wait. See you later, Gin!"

"Bye."

"Farewell, Virginia." Keith's raspy voice practically hissed into the phone.

"Sure thing, Keith."

They hung up. Ginny returned to the living room.

"We're good to go," she said with a smile.

Oliver crooked his head and smiled.

"Not quite. I've still to go home and pack."

Ginny put a hand over her mouth.

"I completely forgot! Will you make it?"

"Of course. I should leave now, though, " he said, getting up.  
>Ginny nodded.<p>

"I'll get back here around noon, alright?" he said.

"Yeah. See you then."

Oliver smiled and gently kissed Ginny's lips. He put on his jacket and went into the chill London morning.

Two hours later Miriam appeared in the kitchen, still dressed in her pyjamas.

"Wow, how long have I been sleeping?" she asked, her voice still thick with sleep.

"About 9 hours, maybe a little less," Ginny answered, handing her a cup of coffee.

"Thank you. I really needed the sleep, though."

"Totally justified," GInny laughed, "but I hope you're awake now."

Miriam took another sip of her coffee and smiled.

"When do we leave?"

"A little over six hours."

Miriam put her cup on the counter and started jumping up and down.

"Paris, Paris, we're going to Paris!"

She took Ginny by the hand and they jumped together. At one point they might have laughed too loudly, because five minutes later, Richard emerged from his room.

"What are you two doing up this time on a Saturday?"

"We've got planning to do," Ginny reminded him.

"Ah," he said, nodding, "let me just grab a bite, and then you'll talk me through it."

"I think I'll go have a nice, long shower," Miriam said.

"There's no shower. You can have a bath, though," Ginny said.

"Even better," Miriam replied with a smile.

Richard sat down with a piece of toast and a cup of tea.

"So..." he began, "How different is this from last time?"

"Well..." GInny began, "there are no envelopes this time. I just have to deliver these letters to some of aunt Peg's friends. It shouldn't take more than 3 weeks. Besides, there's 5 of us now."

Richard was quiet for a moment.

"Look, Ginny," he began, "Don't think that I don't trust you. Far from it. I know that you're responsible, and rather stubborn about certain things, so I don't really see a point in forbidding you to go. And I wouldn't want that. You have my support, whatever that means to you. I'll be here, and if problems arise, let me know."

Ginny smiled and nodded.

"Thank you."

"Right. Just... Can you please make a small agenda for me, so I know where you are? At least roughly?"

"Sure. I'll do that now."

Richard got up and nodded.

"I have to stop by at work. When do you leave?"

Ginny got up as well.

"Around 3."

"Hm... I won't be back by then. Leave the plans on the table, alright?"

"Ok."

Richard laughed. "Do you need any money?"

Ginny laughed as well. "I think I'll manage."

Richard nodded again and went to get ready for work.

A few minutes later Miriam walked in, her hair still in a towel.

"Everything settled?" She asked.

"Yeah, I just needed to let my uncle in on our plan."

"No prob. So... Do we have a plan?"

"Well, we're going to Paris."

"Duh, I know. Then what?"

"Haven't you been paying attention when we were making plans two days ago?"

"Sorry, I just can't stop thinking about Paris! But, no, you're right. Uh, what was it... Amsterdam?"

"Yes. And then..."

"Uh... This is so surreal. Amsterdam, oh my... Uh, Copenhagen?"

"Yees, and then?"

"Uh, uh... Vienna?"

"Yes. And then?"

"Uh... Athens! And then Rome!"

"Yes!"  
>"I am so excited, Gin, I can't even tell you! I never want this to end!"<p>

"It's hardly begun, silly."

"I know! That makes it even better! Should we go pack?"

"We should. You go start, I'll be there in a moment."

Miriam smiled and went toward their bedroom.

Ginny stood in the living room alone, thinking about what Miriam had just said.

_I never want this to end._

Her best friend, who's never had to do anything like this for aunt Peg, didn't want this to end.

Did Ginny feel the same?

She shook her head, sending the thought away for a while, and went to get packed.

* * *

><p>"We did say 3 o'clock, didn't we?"<p>

Keith and Ellis were standing near the bathrooms, smiles on their faces, and two backpacks on their backs.

"Indeed we did."

Ginny, Miriam and Oliver were standing next to them, almost identical expressions on their faces (even a small smile on Oliver's), and backpacks on their backs as well.

"This is so exciting!" Ellis nearly screamed.

"I know!" Miriam replied, equally excited.

"Alright, we should get the tickets," Ginny said, reaching for her wallet, "Can someone mind the backpack please?"

"We'll watch them, if you like!" Ellis said. Keith was already eating.

"Great, thanks," Ginny said, putting her new backpack (thank God that fluorecent thing was long gone) next to their growing pile of luggage.

"No prob," Ellis said with a wink, "Let me just give you the money for Keith and myself." She pulled out the money and handed it to Ginny.

"I'll stay here, help you mind the backpacks," Miriam said, handing her money to Ginny as well, "Can you two get the tickets on your own?"

"I'm sure we'll manage," came Oliver's reply.

* * *

><p>Ginny thanked the heavens that they made a reservation. They bought the tickets mere minutes before boarding, and they let out a deep sigh of relief in unison once they were in their coupé.<p>

"Well, that was close," Keith said, voicing out loud what they were all thinking.

"Yes. Let's try to avoid that in the future," Oliver said, putting their luggage above the seats.

They all nodded, still cathing their breaths from running to the train.

After a few minutes, they were all settled in and the train departed.

The journey went smoothly. They mostly conversed, only occasionally touching the subject of what they were to do next.

Once they passed under the Channel, Oliver got his laptop out and showed Ginny a list of hotels in Paris he had saved that morning.

"This one's good, and not too far away from where we're headed," he informed her, pointing to a hostel near _Les petits chiens_, the bistro where they would find Paul and, as much as Ginny wanted to escape that bit, tell him what had happened to Peg.

"Are you nervous?" Miriam asked her when they went for a little walk to the restaurant in the train. It was ridiculously expensive, but they were all in need of hot beverages, so they were willing to make the sacrifice. Oliver said he'd follow them shortly, to help carry the drinks.

"About what?" Ginny asked.

"I know this man doesn't know your aunt is dead. How do you plan to tell him?"

Ginny was quiet for a moment. "I suppose I'll just... Say it. Without much blabbering. That's good, right?"

"Getting it out in the open quickly. It might be a good idea. Frankly, I don't have a better one, so..."

"Thanks, Mir."

"Pleasure."

Oliver caught up, and they got the drinks.

An hour later, a deep voice on the speakers was informing them they had just arrived to Paris.

Keith streched and jawned.

"We couldn't have come sooner. I think it would've taken me less time to swin over the Channel and then peddle here on a unicycle than like this, but maybe next time."

They all silently giggled, grabbed their luggage and stepped outside.

It took them a while to make their way to the exit. Finally, they stepped onto a Parisian street, feeling much more awake.

"Well, what's the plan?" Keith was the first to enquire after a few moments of silence. "I say food."

"Love, we ought to leave this at the hostel, and look for Paul, and then we'll think about food," Ellis said softly.

Ginny nodded, but secretly wanted to agree with Keith's proposal. She was quite hungry.

"Maybe we can grab a bite on our way to the hostel? Like... a baguette... Or a croissant..." Miriam said, a small smirk on her face.

"Hon hon hon, tour Eiffel, Les Miserables, Notre Dame," Keith muttered quietly, and they slowly made their way to their hostel, trying to keep their eyes locked on the road, and far away from the many bakeries and coffee shops.

* * *

><p>"I don't mind having a room on my own, Gin. They're not that expensive!"<p>

"Mir, you're my best friend. I can't drag you to Paris and then leave you alone."

"Seriously, Gin. You didn't drag me here, and besides, we're here for like one night! Why do you think I'd mind?"

Ginny gently pulled Miriam aside, further away from the rest of 'the gang'.

"If this is some sort of scheme to get me and Oliver alone in a room..." Ginny quietly said, "At night..."

Miriam smirked.

"Maybe. But, for real now, Gin. I know Oliver and Keith wouldn't be too happy about sharing a room, and I'd feel really bad if Ellis and Keith had to be separated just so I wouldn't have to be alone for like _one_ night! I'm serious. I really don't mind. You'll make it up to me tomorrow, when we go sightseeing!" Miriam finished with a happy jump.

Ginny sighed and smiled. "Fine. If it's really not a problem..."

"I told you already! Not. A. Problem. So, when do we leave?"

"Right now, if you're all ready," Ginny said, turning toward everyone else," Let's just pay for the rooms and go."

Ellis nodded enthusiasticaly.

* * *

><p>"It's rather cold for this time of year," Ellis said, wrapping her thin jacket around her torso," I only brought two jumpers. Everything else is mostly summer clothing."<p>

"I'm sure it's just tonight," Keith softly said, putting his arm around Ellis to warm her up, "They said it'll be warm in Amsterdam, if that's any consolation."

After walking for several minutes, they found themselves in the street leading up to _Les Petits Chiens_. They all stood for a moment and sighed nostalgically. Only Miriam seemed confused.

"Am I... missing something?" she quietly said to Ginny.

"We had quite an adventure here last time." Ginny said.

"Quite." Oliver agreed.

"Let's go then. Before the thing closes." Keith suggested.

"I really hope he's here." Ellis said, voicing outloud what Ginny was dreading.

Paul wasn't here last time, and they were, in a way, forced to break into his shop and steal a table.

Ginny didn't want to consider the possibility that Paul might not even be here. She wasn't familiar with holiday traditions of Parisians. She just hoped they might get lucky.

They walked toward the bistro, and all sighed with relief.

There was a light coming from the kitchen window.

They came closer and knocked on the door.

A few moment later, a man appeared behind the counter. He turned on another light and smiled when he noticed Ginny.

He rushed to the door.

"_Bonsoir, mes amis_!" he said, shaking their hands, "Good evening, my friends! Come in! Ginny, it's so nice to see you again."

"It's nice to see you too." Ginny said, smiling. "Let me just intoduce my friends. Paul, these are Miriam, Oliver, Ellis, and Keith," she said, pointing to each as she said their name, "Guys, this is Paul, my aunt's friends.

"Pleasure," he said, offering them all to sit down. He then went to the kithcen and came back with three full plates of food, "You're just in time. I just closed. Everything is still fresh."

Everybody grabbed as much food as they could, since they were starving. Paul didn't seem to mind, or hadn't really noticed.

"I guess you're happy to have me here," he said with a smirk," I would hate to pay for another table."

They all stopped chewing for a moment, and Miriam tried to surpress a gigle.

"Ah, don't worry," Paul said, now smilling, "I'm guessing it was something Margaret asked you to do. How is she?"

Everybody stopped eating again, and fell silent. They all looked at Ginny, who was ignoring their stares. Oliver's hand softly brushed hers under the table, as a sign of support.

"It's why we're here, actually." Ginny began, "I didn't tell you the first time."

"Didn't tell me what?" Paul asked, though it looked like he might have suspected the answer.

"Peg died. Over a year ago."

Paul didn't say anything for a few moments.

Then, he finally spoke.

"_Quel dommage_. What a shame. She had this... _joie de vivre_. This love of life." he said, running a hand through his hair.

Ginny nodded, unsure of what to say next.

"We have something she left for you." Oliver said, sensing that Ginny seemed to have forgotten about the letter.

Ginny turned to him for a moment and smiled out of gratitude.

She reached into her bag, and pulled out an envelope.

She handed it to Paul, who took it, carefully turning it around.

He sat down and opened it.

Inside, there were the paintings that 'the gang' had sorted, but there was also a letter none of them had read, not even Ginny.

Paul slowly examined the paintings, pausing at each to laugh or mutter something good-natured in French.

He then pulled out the letter. He started to read, a small smile present on his face.

" '_Cher Paul_'," he said, and everyone looked at him. They didn't expect him to read it out loud, but, casting a glance at GInny, who apperently wanted to know what it said, they all quieted down and listened to what was written for him. " '_Je suis d__é__sol__ée_. I'm sorry you have to find out like this. I would've called you, but I accidentally blew my nose with the tissue on which I'd written your phone number'," he paused and laughed," She often did things like this. Once, she accidentally stepped into a can of paint, while decorating this," she said, pointing around the bistro, " but she was so focused, she didn't even notice. There are still orange footprints around here somewhere." he said, then turned his attention back to reading," 'so there's that. I think you might have met my messenger, Ginny. I asked her to do this, just like I asked her to visit your bistro the first time, and steal your table later.' Ha, I knew it was her idea," Paul said, still smiling," You know, to be honest. If it were anybody else, I would be very angry." he said, looking at Ginny," But not at your aunt."

Ginny smiled. Aunt Peg did have that effect on people.

"So, where we? Ah, yes. 'If it numbs your pain, I suspect she will have gotten quite a lot of money because of it.' "

Paul looked at Ginny. "Is it true?"

Ginny nodded. "Quite a lot of money is a fairly apt description."

Paul laughed. "I'm glad. She deserved recognition."

"She had your bistro." Ginny said.

Paul looked at Ginny again, and smiled softly. "_Merci_, Ginny."

He went back to reading. " 'I feel as though I would want to tell you so many things. But, forgive me, Paul. I am just so tired. I hardly do anything these days. I eat warm soup that my husband gets me, and I watch old movies. I feel weak. So, I'll have to wrap it up now, but not before I thank you." He stopped for moment, his eyes darting over the next few lines. He took a deep breath and continued. " I don't know how I could've lived those days in Paris if it hadn't been for you. I came to Paris with these big ideas of how the old artists used to live. I wanted to paint on the streets, steal baguettes from bakeries and sip coffee in small cafes on Montmartre. But, alas, Paris proved to be quite ruthless in certain ways. But you, you gave me a chance. A chance to do the one thing I was ever good at. You allowed me to express myself, to capture this mesmerizing city in a way that was not above my reach. So, I raise a toast of canned tomato soup to you, Paul (though not nearly as good as the one you used to make), and I say _merci_. _Merci pour toujours_. P.S. I hope you're as successful as I've always wanted you to be.' "

Everyone was quiet for a while. The only sound echoing through the almost empty bistro was the sound of Keith's chewing.

"I'm sorry you have to leave tomorrow." Paul said, escorting them to the exit.

"I don't think we want to go, either," Ginny said with a smile," but there are a lot things we have to do."

"Of course. Listen, if you're ever in town, let me know, I'll book you a table."

"Thank you, " Ginny said," How's business, by the way?"

"It's blooming." Paul said with a smile, "Thank you. For the letter. And I'm sorry. About Margaret."

Ginny nodded.

They said their goodbyes and made their way back to the hotel. It was getting dark.

"So... Any ideas?" Keith was the first to speak.

"About?" Ginny asked.

"About what to do now?" Keith asked, "Hotel, walk, food?"

"We just ate." Oliver said incredulously.

"Yes, like 20 minutes ago." Keith said.

"I suggest a quick walk, and then back to hotel. Maybe we might do a short tour tomorrow as well." Ellis suggested. "When do we leave?"

"There's a train for Amsterdam around 3 o'clock." Oliver said.

"That sounds good, doesn't it?" Ellis said.

They all agreed, and slowly made their way to the Eiffel tower, which stood like a beacon in the dark Parisian sky.


	14. Charlie

**Once upon a time, I said I'd try to update regularly. As you can see, it looks like I haven't tried at all. I'd like to say a huge thank you for being patient and for those kind messages. Hopefully this will do for now, and I promise antoher chapter is coming shortly.**

Charlie

"Oh gosh, it's so beautiful!" Miriam practically yelled, leaning against the fence on the second floor of the Eiffel tower, marvelling at the beauty of Paris beneath them.

"I know!" Ellis (who did, in fact, yell) replied, both of them grinning wildly.

Keith was walking around, looking at Paris from every angle.

Oliver was gently leaning against the fence. Ginny went and stood by him. There was no wind, but it was late, and now quite chilly.

Ginny leaned against the fence as well. She shivered, and Oliver must have noticed, because a moment later he was standing in front of her, embracing her.

"It really is beautiful here." Ginny said.

Oliver nodded.

"I'm tired." was the next thing she said.

Oliver chuckled. "Well, that was a twist."

Ginny laughed as well, turning around. Their faces were almost touching.

"I've only slept for 5 hours last night." she jokingly said.

"Then it is justified." Oliver said, a small smile on his face, before he himself yawned.

"Well, what do you know?" Ginny laughed.

"Maybe we ought to call it a night? We can do some more sightseeing on the way to the hotel, and tomorrow morning." Oliver said, extending his hand. Ginny nodded and accepted it.

They met up with Mir, Ellis and Keith, who all looked equally tired.

"Ready to go?" Ginny asked.

Everyone nodded in unison.

* * *

><p>"Are you done? I'm planning on going to bed beofre two in the morning!" Ellis said, knocking on the door of the bathroom they all shared, and which Keith was currently occupying.<p>

"In a minute!"

The rest of them had already cleaned up. Mir had wished everyone goodnight, apologising that the time difference was still getting the best of her.

Oliver and Ginny, who were sharing a room (and a bed, seeing as they hadn't booked the hotel earlier, and so couldn't get two single beds), were now getting things ready for tomorrow. They both got out their planned outfits and checked everything. It was a trait they shared.

When they finished, they looked at each other and started to laugh.

After finishing everything, they got into bed. It wasn't a very big bed, so they always seemed to be quite close to each other.

After a few moments of silence, Ginny sighed. Oliver turned towards her.

"This is so weird." she said, looking at the ceiling.

"If you want, I can switch rooms with Miriam." Oliver offered.

"No! I mean... No," she said, turning to him. They were both now lying on their sides, facing each other," Please don't."

Oliver managed to surpress a grin. He nodded, turning to lay on his back.

"I hope we won't have any trouble finding Charlie tomorrow," Ginny said,"I mean, you know what happened last time."

"And the time before." Oliver responded.

Ginny laughed.

"And the time before."

There was a moment of silence. Then Ginny spoke, her voice quiet.

"Thank you for being here."

Oliver, who was facing the ceiling, turned his head toward Ginny. She was stil looking at the ceiling.

"Well, I know it would've been quite strange for you to spend all this time with Keith and Ellis, seeing as-"

"No," Ginny interruped, looking at Oliver, "no, thank you. It has nothing to do with Keith."

She said the last sentence very quietly, slowly coming closer to Oliver.

He moved as well, and their faces were inches apart.

"No?" He asked.

"No."

Oliver's eye lashes fluttered, his eyes roaming over Ginny's face. She could feel them stoping at her lips for a few seconds, and her face instantly felt hot. She was sure she was blushing.

"This is quite a small bed." Oliver said.

Ginny tried to surpress a giggle. "It is, yeah."

"I don't suppose," Oliver began, lifting his hand to gently touch Ginny's cheek, "that we could somehow... lie closer? To each other? I'm sure it'd be more comfortable."

Ginny was sure her face was burning after Oliver's touch.

Oliver moved closer. Ginny moved as well, laying her head on Oliver's shoulder. He put his arm around her, and they were quiet for a while.

"I hope I'm not too sharp." Oliver said, his hand barely stroking Ginny's hair.

She was sure he thought she wouldn't feel it.

"No, you're good."

"Glad to be of use."

"That's why you're here."

"Naturally."

"I wish we didn't have to leave tomorrow."

"Why? I thought you wanted to finish the whole thing with your aunt."

"I do. Really. It's just... This is my third time in Paris, and the only things I've seen are the Eiffel Tower and some shabby cafe in Montmartre. I mean, people dream of coming to Paris their whole lives, and here I am, just... passing through it."

"Why didn't you say that earlier? We could've stayed for a few days."

"Because I wanted to finish it. I wanted to leave this whole envelope thing behind. Does that make any sense?"

Olver chuckeld, ang Ginny felt the chuckle on her cheek.

"I don't think you're supposed to make sense when you're eighteen." he said.

Ginny laughed quietly. Her hand was on Oliver's chest, and she was now making small circles with her fingers. Oliver's breathing was becoming slower and more relaxed. After a while, Ginny thought he'd fallen asleep. She removed her hand.

"I feel like a cat." Oliver said. Ginny giggled.

"I think you're dealing with this whole thing much better than many other people would." Oliver said after a few moments of silence.

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.

"Just... That you've had to do so much at such a young age. You travelled all over Europe, and not just for fun. I think a lot of other people wouldn't be so confident."

"I'm not confident. I was terrified when I was alone last summer." Ginny said.

"You need a certain amount of courage to do what you did. And I think your aunt knew very well just how brave you are." Oliver quietly said.

Ginny was silent for a while. Aunt Peg always used to tell to be strong and brave in the face of new adventures, but Ginny rarely did anything adventureous.

And then the envelopes happened. And Ginny was scared out of her mind, but she was also excited and ready for something new.

"You really think that?" Ginny asked.

"Of course. I saw how you dealt with the whole thing. I wouldn't have been able to do that."

"You don't know that. I doubted myself, and I've made it, as you said."

Oliver chuckled. "True. But I'm fairly certain I wouldn't have been able to deal with all of that the way you did."

"Why're you telling me this?"

"Because I think you need someone to tell you that," Oliver said, looking at Ginny, and then looked away," because I know from personal expierience what lack of encouragement can do. People need to support the people they care about"

GInny felt what could only be described as butterflies in her stomach.

"Yeah?" She asked, a huge smile on her face.

"Yes." Oliver replied, also smiling.

They were leaning in for a kiss, at which point Oliver jawned, and Ginny laughed.

"I think we'll leave this for tomorrow." She said.

Oliver nodded. Ginny leaned in and pecked him on the lips. They turned off the lights and were asleep within moments.

* * *

><p>"Bonjour!" Someone was yelling at the door. Ginny didn't want to open her eyes for two reasons. Number one, she was still exhausted. Number two, she was unimagineably warm. She opened her eyes and was blinded by the light coming from the large window in their small room. The light must have zapped her awake, because she instantly felt a hand on her back. She moved her head around and realized it was Oliver's hand. Which was beneath her shirt. On her bare skin. She then noticed that one of her legs was draped over Oliver's hip.<p>

Ginny didn't know what to do. They had to get up. But Oliver was still asleep, softly breathing against her neck, and it was very endearing. She didn't want to move.

A louder knock came on the door. "Breakfast is served!" a voice with a heavy French accent came through the door.

"Merci!" Ginny said. That woke Oliver up. He opened his eyes, and glanced at Ginny.

They didn't move for a moment. Then Oliver must have noticed his hand.

"I'm sorry." he said.

"I don't mind." Ginny said.

Oliver nodded.

"But we should get up." Ginny said.

"Yes, tons of stuff to do today." Oliver said.

"Yeah." Ginny said and got up. She took her phone and found a message from Richard. He was asking if they had made it to Paris without problems. Ginny replied that they had, and were getting ready to go to Amsterdam. She was almost done when she heard Oliver's voice behind her.

"Ginny," he said. He seemed nervous. His hands were behind his back, which made him seem like a little boy. "I, er, have something I need to make clear."

Ginny felt her heart beating, and not for a good reason.

"What?" she asked, her voice a little higher than a whisper. What if Oliver was regretting everything they'd said (and not said) last night.

"I don't know if I was clear enough last night." he said, coming standing closer to Ginny.

Ginny stilled. "About what?" she asked, a tone of fear in her voice.

"I... I, uh... Wow, this is difficult." Oliver said and tried to laugh, "I, uh, care... about you."

Ginny's heart was still beating like mad, but for very good reasons.

"Quite a lot." Oliver continued.

"Me too. I mean, I care about you. Like, really care about you." Ginny quietly said.

Oliver breathed a sigh of relief and was now smiling like mad. Ginny laughed as well. She leaned in closer and rested her forhead against Oliver's.

"This is a nice way to weak up." Ginny said.

Oliver was still smiling. He nodded and kissed Ginny's nose.

There was another loud knock on the door. "The housekeeper will start in 30 minutes!" the voice anounced again.

"I think that's our cue." Oliver said.

They got up. Ginny took her toilette bag. Oliver caughed.

"Would you mind if I, er, use the bathroom first?"

Ginny nodded, and then, when she realised what Oliver was reffering to, went red and turned around to make the bed. Oliver rushed to the bathroom, and Ginny opened the window to breath in some fresh air.

To her surprise, it was raining. Heavily. Paris was covered in a mist.

Ginny glanced at the clock and noticed it was only 7.30 a.m. Which was really early, even for them. But then again, this was a three-star hotel on the outskirts of Paris, so the early wake-up call sholdn't have come as a surprise.

After she and Oliver got ready, Ginny went to see if everybody else was up.

She knocked on Keith and Ellis' door, and heard nothing. She knocked again.

"Go. Away." Keith's voice yelled through the door.

"We have to go soon." Ginny replied, and opened the door. A pillow hit her in the face.

"Keith!" Ellis said, "Ginny, you okay?"

"Yeah, no, I'm good." Ginny said, throwing the pillow back at Keith, "We'll meet you downstairs in 20 minutes. Don't leave anything behind."

Ellis nodded, and Keith grunted.

Ginny closed the door and went to wake Miriam up.

Luckily, Miriam was already standing in front of the door, fiddling with the key.

"Good morning, mademoiselle." Ginny said.

"Hello to you too." Miriam laughed.

"You ready?"

"Born ready."

They went to get Ginny's things. Oliver was getting dressed. He nodded as a sign of greeting. Miriam smiled.

"Let me just brush my teeth, and then we can leave." Ginny said.

Ginny slowly brushed her teeth. They had to be out of the hotel in 25 minutes, but their train for Amsterdam wasn't leaving until 3. So they had a good 6 hours to spend in Paris.

When she finished, she packed and returned to the room. Oliver and Miriam were chatting.

"History and German? That's an interesting combination." Oliver said, obviously commenting on Miriam's university choices.

"Yeah, my mother isn't too thrilled." Miriam said with a bitter smile.

"It isn't really her decision to make, is it?" Oliver said, and added with a smirk, "Besides, if all else fails, at least you have a filthy rich friend to take care of you." he said and looked at Ginny.

"Is that why I'm here?" Ginny replied, faking shock.

"Of course." Miriam said.

"I thought it was more than that?"

"Please. Who are you trying to fool?" Miriam replied, but she was already laughing, and went over to hug Ginny.

"Well, if that's the case, let me pay for your tickets." Ginny said.

"Absolutely out of the question." Miriam said.

"God, you're all so difficult." Ginny said.

They picked up their backpacks, and went to get Ellis and Keith.

They were already waiting in front of their room, Ellis was locking their door, and Keith was leaning agaist her shoulder, leaving a small pool of saliva on her bue shirt.

Ginny kicked him in the shin. He snapped awake.

"God, I'm hungry." he said, rubbing his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Let's get something to eat." Ginny said.

They went to the restaurant in the hotel, and were pleasantly surprised to find a plate of freshy baked croissants, a wide variety of jams, as well as butter, cheeses, hams and eggs. They stocked their plates, sat down and ate in silence for a few moments.

Keith was the first to speak.

"So, by my calculations, we've roughly got 5 hours before we have to leave. what are we gonna do?"

"I hardly think it will be difficult to find something to do in Paris for a few hours." Oliver said.

"Yeah, but," Keith replied, "anythnig in particular? Like, museums and such?"

"Do you want to go to a museum and such?" Ginny asked.

"Well, I tought we might check somethnig out. Doesn't have to be the Louvre. Just... Anything. A bit of culture." Keith said, putting a whole buttered croissant into his mouth.

"Yes, that sounds nice." Oliver said with a smirk. Ginny, Miriam and Ellis giggled. Even Keith laughed.

Twenty minutes later they were staning in the crowded Parisian subway. They'd put all their money and passports into the inner pockets of their jackets, and Keith put his money in a special pocket inside of his trousers. ("Nobody ever searches there.")

When they reached their station (Musee d'Orsay), they had to fight their way out of the car. They knew there was no way they'd fit in with the crowd, seeing as they were a group of English - speaking people with backpacks, so they just decided to stick together.

When they got to street - level, they found themselves on the Quai d'Orsay, a few minutes away from the museum. Despite their previous conversations about museums and such, they'd decided they'd just walk around the city for a while, grab something to eat and arrive to the station well beofre their train left, to avoid the adventure from London, when they'd almost missed their train.

They walked the short disatnce along the Seine. It was starting to get warmer.

Finally, they arrived to the Orsay, and across form it they could see the Louvre.

"It's really strange to be here. Like, you see it in all the photos, and you don't think it's real, but it's actually here." Miriam said.

"Paris really is a strange place." Keith said.

They stood there for a while, admiring the architecture. They could make out the roof of Notre Dame.

"Let's pay Quasimodo a visit." Ellis suggested.

They walked and talked, having meaningless conversations about just about anything. They were moving very slowly, the heat and the weight of their luggage slowing them down.

When they finally reached the cathedral, they sat on the floor a few metres away from the entrance, thankful for the shade and the still cold ground.

The chime of the clock scared them. It was nine o'clock.

"Anybody want to go inside?" Miriam asked. They all nodded.

It was cold and crowded inside. They did a few cirlces and then sat down. They felt relaxed and calm.

"God, it's hot." Keith said, looking at the ceiling.

By the time they stepped out, it was already 9.45.

"I think it's high time for brunch." Keith said.

Wishing to save up some money and not eat in an insanely expensive bistro, they wandered about, looking for somewhere cheap to eat. After about ten minutes of intensive search, they found a cute bistro in an alley close to the Champs-Élysées.

They sat down and ordered many different types of food and drinks. It arrived shorty and they ate in relative silence.

When they'd cleared their plates and paid, it was already 11 o'clock.

"Have we seriously been eating for an hour?" Ellis asked, perplexed.

"Well, to be honest, we did order a lot of food." Miriam said.

They walked around for a while, and found a park. They decided to sit in the shade of a large oak.

"If it's alright with everyone, I think I'll take a kip." Keith said and closed his eyes.

They were sitting in a circle, Keith was lying on his back on the grass, Ellis was leaning against him, and Miriam was lying on her stomach, elbows popped. Ginny was sitting with her legs crossed, Oliver's head in her lap.

The wind was softly blowing, cooling them in the shade. The girls were talking about the journey, making plans for Amsterdam and beyond. Ginny was gently stroking Oliver's hair.

At around noon, Oliver woke up to go to the bathroom, and Ginny and Miriam offered to get some drinks.

"I thought I'd be more excited about roaming around Paris with my best friend." Miriam said, putting an arm around Ginny's shoulder.

"I think without the luggage and the time limit, you could have been having a great time." Ginny said.

"Yeah. But this works too."

"Does it?"

"Are you kidding me? Of course it does! I mean, I came to visit you hoping to see parts of London, and now I'm on a trip around Europe with my best girl and her rad friends, seeing all this stuff I thought I'd only ever see pictures of. So of course it's good."

Ginny smiled. "Thanks for the support." she said.

Miriam hugged her. "Anytime, Virginia."

They spent another hour in the park, drinking Coke and some French soft drink called Ricqlès, which tasted faintly of toothpaste.

Around 1 o'clock, they decided to slowly make their way to the train station. They walked in the shades, and finally arrived at their destination around 2 o'clock.

"Well, that's more like it," said Keith, "Now we still have time to buy some lunch and food for the train."

"I'll just go get the tickets." Ginny said.

"I'll come with you." Oliver offered. Ginny nodded.

They were standing in line, their reservation number on Oliver's mobile.

"Oliver, can I ask you something?" Ginny said. Now Oliver nodded.

"Do you think I could somehow convince you to let me pay for your tickets?" Ginny said, biting the inside of her lip. Oliver sighed.

Before he could answer, Ginny interrupted him.

"No, please, just hear me out. This is alright, right, but the other tickets are going to be expensive, and I don't want to put anyone in an ungrateful position."

Oliver sighed again, but it wasn't an exasperated sigh. It was more like he was thinking.

It was their turn. Oliver spoke in a combination of French and English, and paid for the tickets with the money they'd gathered.

When they were done, he finally spoke.

"I don't think they will let you do that, and I agree, but if you could offer to pay for half of the tickets, they might let you do it." He said, looking at Ginny, and softly kissed her cheek.

The rest of the group were waiting, three full bags from the nearby shop around their feet.

"What's all this?" Oliver asked.

"It's a three - hour journey." Keith replied.

* * *

><p>When they were comfortably seated in their wagon, Ginny excused herself to go to the toilet. She washed her face, and decided to tell everyone about her plan to pay for their tickets. When she returned, everyone was already eating.<p>

"Ah, Virginia, come join us." Keith said, handing Ginny a plastic plate.

"Thanks." Ginny said. They'd bought just about everything - croissants, bagels, pies, muffins, brownies, fruit, candy, chocolates, puddings, six different types of soft drinks and a carton of chocolate milk.

The train soon departed, and they relaxed and continued eating. After a while Ginny spoke.

"Listen, everyone, I've got something I'd like to say."

Everyone was quiet. Ginny took a deep breath.

"I know you'd all said you'd pay for your tickets, and I'd said I would respect that. These few tickets were alright, but I think the next ones will be much more expensive, so I thought, if you'd let me, I'd pay for those. Or at least something. As a thank you." Ginny said.

Everyone was still quiet. Finally, Miriam spoke.

"Yeah, ok. That sounds reasonable."

Ginny looked at Miriam, who was smiling softly.

Ellis spoke next.

"I think it makes sense, yeah."

"Well, you are the rich one, after all." Keith said with a smile.

Ginny was now smiling as well.

"Ok, great." she spoke.

They all went back to talking and joking soon.

Ginny realized that Oliver hadn't said anything. When she looked at him, he was looking at her, and he winked.

Ginny smiled and beckoned him to sit next to her.

"Thank you." she said when he sat down.

"I think it should be the other way around." he said and smiled.

"Or we could both just say thanks." Ginny said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Sound good to me." Oliver quietly said. Ginny kissed him.

* * *

><p>Three hours later they were standing in front of the familiar bookstore, but it was closed.<p>

"Why doesn't this surprise me?" Ginny said, looking around for a pink boat.

"Says here it opens tomorrow at 9." Oliver said.

"So, should we wait till tomorrow?" Ellis asked.

"I was hoping we might find him tonight." Ginny said.

"Well, we know what that thing he calls a boat looks like. Maybe we should spread out and search?" Keith suggested.

"Sound like _déjà vu_. But I suppose that's the only option we have." Oliver said.

Just as they were getting ready to spread out and search, the faint sound of Fleetwood Mac's _Go your own way _was coming from the river. They all leaned on the rails and saw a familiar, but now alarmingly purple boat approaching the spot just below them, and a very hairy man dressed in ripped jeans overalls standing at the deck holding a rope. He looked up, and when he noticed them, smiled widely and waved.

They all stood there in shock.

"How is this possible?" Keith said.

"I don't believe it." Ellis said.

"What." Miriam said.

Ginny was smiling.

Charlie parked his boat and rushed to greet them.

"Well, look who's here! Lovely to see you all again." Charlie said, shaking everyone's hand, "And you must be new!" he said to Miriam.

"I'm Miriam, it's nice to meet you." Mir said with a smile.

"Ah. A very old, very strong name. I like it." he said with a smile. "Come on, I'll make you some tea." he said, gesturing towards his shop.

They all went inside. The shop had that smell of old books, which made Ginny feel very relaxed. They wandered around for a while, before Charlie returned with six cups of tea.

"So, you all must really love this place, seeing how often you come here. Or is it me you all adore so much?" Charlie said with a wink.

"Well, we're here to give you something, actually." Ginny said, somewhat eager to get this all done with. She was hoping to have an early dinner and go straight to bed. She reached into her backpack and pulled out the blue envelope with the name 'Charlie' written across it in surprisingly neat handwriting. She handed the envelope to Charlie.

He took it and looked at it for a while.

"What's this?" he finally said.

"A letter from Peg." Ginny said.

"For me?" he asked.

Ginny nodded.

Charlie put down his cup of tea and carefully opened the envelope. He pulled out the paintings and looked at them. He smiled while examining them. He put the paintings on the counter and reached for the letter.

"Do you want me to read it out loud?" he asked.

"You don't have to. It's meant for you." Ginny said.

"Nonsense. Your aunt wouldn't have minded." he said and began to read:

"_Dear Charlie! Sorry for stealing your window. But, to ease the pain, it will have sold for quite a lot of money, from what I hear. It's all for my niece. Financial security, for the future, as they say... Oh, I wish I could see Amsterdam just one more time. To walk in those museums and admire all those paintings I've spent my entire life dreaming about. I thought one day my work would've been there with them. That was a ridiculous thing to dream. But, still, I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for giving me this. For letting me feel and experience that wonderful city of yours, for showing me the Dutch light and for allowing me to paint your boat. Hopefully it's a hit with the tourists! All my love, Peg._"

This was the third letter they'd heard, and every time they would all be silent, not knowing who should talk first and what should be said.

Luckily, Charlie was quicker than all of them.

"Peg had this very steady, precise, but also delicate hand," he said. "If she had lived longer, her work would've one day been in those galleries. I'm sure of it."

Ginny nodded, unsure of what to say. She was just hoping she could hold back the tears until they arrived to the hotel.

* * *

><p>They'd said goodbye to Charlie, who had offered to make them dinner. They politely refused, saying they'd already booked a restaurant, which wasn't exactly true.<p>

They opted for McDonalds.

"He's got a lot of hair." Miriam said, shoving a huge bite of a Big Mac into her mouth. They all nodded.

"What next?" Ellis asked, wiping her hands. The clock on the wall shoved it was 8 p.m.

Oliver had booked them a hostel when they'd arrived.

"I just want to go to bed." Ginny said.

"I agree." Miriam added.

The hostel was near the Van Gogh's museum, or at least do it had said on the website. They spent a good 20 minutes looking for it, only to find it hidden between two larger houses a few blocks away from the museum. It was a very nice place, small and homely.

They'd booked one room, with six beds, to pay less.

Luckily, they were the only ones in the room. They arranged the bathroom schedule, and began talking about their plans for tomorrow.

"So, Denmark," Keith said, and added, smiling widely, "The home of the house - boat."

Ginny could practically feel Oliver roll his eyes.


End file.
